Pebble, formerly known as T2, a Twitter alternative, is shutting down due to intense competition from other Twitter rivals and the strong grip Twitter, now called X, has on the market. Despite initially having decent retention and a small but engaged community, Pebble struggled to gain traction, with only 3,000 daily active users out of 20,000 registered users. The founders believe that the competitive landscape evolved faster than anticipated, and the durability of the network effect of Twitter proved stronger than expected. Pebble aimed to prioritize trust, safety, and moderation, but may have positioned itself too far into the "kindness" territory. The lack of a native mobile app and a rebranding from T2 to Pebble may have also contributed to its challenges. The founders don't regret their experience and may work on something new in the future.
A Meta employee accidentally posted a screenshot revealing that Threads, Meta's microblogging platform, will soon have a Trending Topics section. The feature will allow users to find posts on the most discussed topics on the platform, and the interface appears simple, showing a ranking of the most commented topics with the number of posts on each topic. It is unclear if this will be the final interface, but with Meta employees already having access to the feature, it is expected to be available to the public soon.
As Elon Musk's first year as the owner of Twitter approaches, critics are assessing his performance and its implications for his business acumen. Musk's tenure has been marked by chaos and questionable decisions, including slashing Twitter's headcount, rebranding the platform as X, and alienating staff, users, and advertisers. Despite these missteps, Twitter continues to survive, but alternative platforms like Mastodon are gaining traction among users seeking a microblogging platform free from Musk's influence. Fixing the problems with Twitter will take time and strategy, but it remains to be seen if Musk's actions will ultimately lead to the demise of the platform.
Elon Musk's recent changes to Twitter, including replacing the logo and sign with an X, have sparked discussions about retiring the term "tweet" to refer to microblog posts. With Twitter expanding its character limit and other platforms offering longer posts, the term "tweet" feels increasingly outdated. While the change may not be driven solely by Musk's actions, it highlights the need for a more universal term like "post" to describe microblogging content.
Instagram's Notes feature now allows users to set their status to a 30-second clip of a song with a short caption. The feature is popular among teens, who use it 10 times more than other users. Instagram is also adding a translation button for posts in other languages. Meanwhile, Meta is preparing to launch a microblogging service called Threads, which will support the ActivityPub standard to be interoperable with Mastodon and other federated social networks.
Meta is reportedly launching a new text-based app this summer that will partially integrate with Instagram and serve as a decentralized microblogging platform. The app, codenamed P92 or Barcelona, will be interoperable with Mastodon and use the same community guidelines as Instagram. Users will be able to log in with their Instagram credentials, and text posts will be up to 500 characters, with the ability to upload photos, links, and videos up to five minutes long. Meta is targeting high-profile public figures to get early access, and the app will be decentralized and interoperable with Mastodon.
Bluesky, a decentralized microblogging app backed by Jack Dorsey, is gaining popularity among power users of Twitter. The app is reminiscent of the early days of Twitter, with short, funny posts and no DMs, video functionality, or GIFs. Bluesky is currently invite-only and its success will depend on how it handles bringing in new users and its decentralized approach. Interestingly, Twitter gave Bluesky a good chunk of its initial funding before their partnership ended.
