Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Mar 31, 2023

Meta could rival Twitter as it reveals work is under way on new social network

Meta could rival Twitter as it reveals work is under way on new social network

Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, appears to sense an opportunity to take advantage of the tumultuous nature of Elon Musk's Twitter ownership by launching a new rival.
Meta has revealed it is working on a new social network solely designed for sharing text updates.

The app would appear to be a direct competitor to Twitter, with a company spokesperson confirming it will be a "decentralised" platform similar to other alternatives that grew in popularity after Elon Musk's takeover.

"We're exploring a standalone decentralised social network for sharing text updates," a Meta statement said.

"We believe there's an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests."

The plan was originally reported by Money Control, citing Meta sources, with more details revealed by Platformer.

While the new app is said to be Instagram-branded (Meta owns that platform, plus Facebook and WhatsApp), allowing users to log in with existing accounts, it will operate differently.

It will reportedly support a decentralised social networking protocol called ActivityPub, which is the same one that powers some existing Twitter rivals like Mastodon.

What does decentralised mean?

Platforms that talk about being "decentralised" are hearkening back to an earlier era of the internet, where big tech companies had less of a monopoly over the websites that people used.

Facebook and Twitter, for example, are controlled by a single company - they have total oversight when it comes to content that is allowed on the platform.

But Mastodon, and other Twitter alternatives that rose in prominence last year, are instead made up of many independent communities or servers that live under one umbrella.

These might be run by different individuals or companies, with their own rules and policies.

Former Twitter boss Jack Dorsey, who co-founded the company in 2006, is working on his own such project called Blue Sky, which has been in testing since last year.

Is there demand for a 'new Twitter'?

Sky News analysis revealed surges in interest in Twitter-like platforms late last year, as users concerned with Musk's approach looked into jumping ship.

But the tumultuous takeover hasn't upended people's habits to the extent experts predicted. The rapid rise in Mastodon users, for example, has stalled.

One of the key issues facing upstart Twitter-like firms is that they often don't boast the accessible feature sets and slick visual design that helped make Facebook and Instagram usable by everyone, from your grandma to your kids.

Meta's new platform will likely be built with a mainstream audience in mind, though confidence in the company has taken something of a battering in recent years due to user privacy scandals and criticism of Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse strategy.

Other recent app experiments by the company have not always gone smoothly, with the likes of its video speed-dating service called Sparked and couples-focused social platform Tuned among those to have shut in recent years.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
Close
0:00
0:00
Don’t Dismiss China’s Peacemaking Bid
China and Brazil have signed a new deal that will allow them to trade in their own currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary
Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’
“We've had evidence prior to the pandemic that masks were largely ineffective at preventing community transmission of influenza “
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz:
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz rejects being labeled a "billionaire"
Jamie Dimon is being deposed over JPMorgan Chase role in Epstein lawsuits
Brand new security footage has just been released to the public showing the Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale drove to Covenant Church School in her Honda Fit this morning, parked, and shot her way into the building
Smart Iranian fashion designer teaching dummy TV anchors lesson about reality
U.S. charges FTX's Bankman-Fried with paying $40 million bribe
Fallen 'Crypto King' Who Owes Millions to Investors Was Kidnapped and Tortured
Regulators blame social media for SVB's rapid collapse: 'Complete game changer'
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Powell: Silicon Valley Bank was an 'outlier'
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
A brief banking situation report
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
Silicon Valley Bank: Struggles Threaten Tech Startup Ecosystem"
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Spain officials quit over trains that were too wide for tunnels...
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
European MP Clare Daly condemns US attack on Nord Stream
Tucker Carlson called Trump a 'demonic force'
US Joins 15 NATO Nations in Largest Space Data Collection Initiative in History
White House: No ETs over the United States
Saray Street in Hatay-Antakya before and after the earthquake
U.S. Jet Shoots Down Flying Object Over Canada
Nord Stream terror attack: David Sacks breaks down Sy Hersh's story
Being a Tiktoker might be expensive…
Miracle: El Salvador Search and Rescue teams, with the support of Turkish teams, rescued a woman and a child from the rubble 150 hours after the earthquake
SpaceX, the private space exploration company, made a significant breakthrough in their mission to reach space.
China's top tech firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, NetEase, and JD.com, are developing their own versions of Open AI's AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT
This shocking picture, showing how terrible is the results of the earthquake in Turkey
President Joe Biden delivered the 2023 State of the Union Address , in order to help Americans that missed the 2022 speech, do not have internet, and suffer from short memory.
The desk of King Carlos Alberto of Sardinia has many secret compartments
×