After the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk there has been a lot of uncertainty about what direction the social media platform is going in. The company was acquired by Musk for $44 billion and he kicked things off by making some abrupt redundancies last week, having stated the business is losing $4 million a day, as per the Guardian.
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Along with all these changes there has also been question marks about how moderating and censorship would be handled. In addition, the ‘blue tick’ markers, used to denote verified accounts, have had their conditions changed and are now available to everyone for a fee. In the wake of all these changes people have started looking at other platforms for their social media needs and we’ve listed a few alternatives.
Mastodon
This social network has seen a big increase in users this week describes itself as a ‘decentralised social network’ and, according to Variety, it is:
A site that consists of different 'communities' and is 'built with a focus on privacy and safety,' letting users decide who they want to share their posts with and providing content warnings. It also has an ad-free, chronological timeline, custom emojis and a 500-character limit
Tumblr
This well established site is part social media and part blog and started back in 2007. The site has similarities to MySpace but does have a feed that allows you to see posts from people you follow as well as the possibility to add to posts with various media and comments, as per IGN.
Cohost
This is a new social media platform that has not been fully released but is growing in popularity already. It is similar to Twitter in its format but currently you have to wait one day after signing up before posting. Future features will include virtual tips and subscription features where you can charge for your content, like on Patreon.
Counter Social
This platform has styled itself the ‘next-gen social network’ and promises to have no trolls, abuse, ads, fake new or foreign influence operations according to its description in the App Store. They assert that they will not sell your data and claim to be the first social media platform to take ‘a zero tolerance stance to hostile nations, bot accounts, trolls or disinformation networks’, as per Variety.
Bluesky
This one isn’t out yet but is the new social media platform created by Twitter co-founder and former CEO, Jack Dorsey. The project is being funded by Twitter and began back in 2019 and aspires to be a decentralised version of Twitter that will potentially use blockchain technology to achieve its goals, as per IGN. Definitely one for the future.
Sources used:
- The Guardian 'Twitter staff in UK facing axe given three days to nominate representative'
- IGN 'Here are Your Twitter Alternatives as the Bird App Tumbles'
- Variety'Quitting Twitter After Elon Musk’s Takeover? Here Are Four Alternatives'
