As if the world needed another social media platform, Meta just announced that it is developing an alternative to Twitter. Wow, another surprising and original… Zuckerberg clone, a true artist in the field.
P92
This is the "code" name that the insiders of the Menlo Park company gave to the project. The current head of Instagram will be leading the development, Adam Mosseri. It's not yet clear when the app will launch, but it is known that it will be decentralized and text-based, with users able to log in via their Instagram credentials.
According to Meta, the new app “will offer a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.” Remind you of something?
Clone by clone, clone squared
The interesting thing to note is that Meta (already launched imitations of Youtube and TikTok with video products like IGTV and Reel) now talks about a decentralized platform. It seems like a “defensive” move to compete not only with Twitter, but also with decentralized alternatives like Mastodon and BlueSky, the new social network just launched from the former CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey.
How will it end?
The birth of Meta's new Twitter clone inevitably (re)raises the question of where the world of social media is headed. While Facebook and Twitter once seemed to have a monopoly on the market, we now see a myriad of alternatives emerging, some decentralized, some more targeted to specific audiences or interests.
Not surprisingly, the choice was met with obvious skepticism by some observers. Meta doesn't have a particularly flattering roster in terms of new ideas, but even with emulations it's not doing well.
What do you think of all these “micro maneuvers”? Are they significant actions or just small sparks of a sun, that of the social networks as we know them, now dying?
