The hunt for the next Twitter: all the news about alternative social media platforms

Nov 13, 2024 05:59 AM - 3 weeks ago 32948

It’s been much than 2 years since Elon Musk officially took complete arsenic the proprietor of Twitter — now X — and while a batch of platforms rushed successful to effort and beryllium the adjacent large microblogging service, galore haven’t survived. Threads, Mastodon, and Bluesky person each proven to beryllium viable alternatives, but places for illustration Pebble (formerly T2) and Post News didn’t make it.

Threads is possibly the apt successor, having reached 275 cardinal monthly users arsenic of October 2024, and it seems committed to fediverse integration by building features around the ActivityPub protocol. Bluesky, which relies connected its ain decentralized AT Protocol for societal networking, continues to turn and saw a surge of users aft the 2024 election, though pinch somewhere northbound of 14.5 cardinal users, it’s still good down Threads. Mastodon, which besides uses the ActivityPub protocol, was already well-established by the clip Musk bought Twitter but has struggled to turn its progressive personification base.

There still isn’t a clear successor to Twitter. X hasn’t become the monolithic “everything app” that Musk says he wants it to be. But contempt the occurrence of Threads, continued beingness of Mastodon, and the maturation of Bluesky, X is still the spot wherever galore group and companies station things earlier they spell anyplace other — astatine least, for now.

Here’s our sum of the alternatives to X.

Hello Bluesky.
The Verge’s Bluesky account is now actively posting stories from the site, and there’s a starter battalion for pursuing individual reporters, editors, and others. Come find us!
Bluesky adds 700,000 caller users successful a week
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
Bluesky gained much than 700,000 caller users successful the past week and now has much than 14.5 cardinal users total, Bluesky COO Rose Wang confirmed to The Verge. The “majority” of the caller users connected the decentralized societal web are from the US, Wang says. The app is presently the number 2 free societal networking app successful the US App Store, only trailing Meta’s Threads.
People posting connected Threads, connected the different hand, person raised complaints astir engagement bait, moderation issues, and, arsenic of late, misinformation, reports Taylor Lorenz. And for illustration our very ain Tom Warren, I’ve travel to dislike the algorithmic “For You” provender that you can’t permanently escape, and it surely seems for illustration we’re not unsocial successful that opinion.
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How to deactivate your X account
Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge
Once upon a time, Twitter — now X — was the spot to get your memes, world news, and popular culture. However, moreover astatine the time, being an progressive Twitter personification besides required sifting done a regular deluge of toxic characters, bots, and deepfakes. Then the Elon Musk circus came to municipality and began steadily altering the formerly celebrated societal web to the constituent that galore of its adherents began bailing by moving to one aliases much of the caller societal networks, specified arsenic Threads, Bluesky, aliases Mastodon.
Now that the 2024 US statesmanlike predetermination is over, Musk looks for illustration he’s going to beryllium astatine slightest 1 of the powers down the throne. Add to that caller changes that have made X little safe to use, and it’s nary astonishment that location is now a caller activity of X users looking to time off the platform. If you’re 1 of them, here’s immoderate proposal connected really to deactivate your account.
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Mastodon lawsuit botsin.space is shutting down.
The long-running lawsuit hosts immoderate of the fediverse’s awesome bots, for illustration one that imagines the Google Searches of Star Trek: TNG’s Commander Riker. Another is posting 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1 framework astatine a clip (which could return astir 5 years).
Blaming ongoing expenses, botsin.space creator Colin Mitchell writes successful a blog station that, starting not agelong aft December 15th, it will spell read-only until March 2025.
The Verge’s favourite societal networks
Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge
Social networking has go much disconnected, to opportunity the least. Two years ago, Elon Musk began transforming Twitter into what is now X, and the ensuing chaos drove a batch of erstwhile users elsewhere — elsewhere being several places, including Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, and moreover Facebook aliases Instagram.
We were funny arsenic to wherever our unit members were going for their societal networking hole these days — aliases whether they had fixed up connected it altogether. Here are immoderate of their answers.
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Bluesky says it won’t usage blockchains moreover though it’s funded by Blockchain Capital.
Its $15 cardinal backing round was led by Blockchain Capital, a task superior group that has invested successful crypto firms, for illustration Kraken, OpenSea, and Coinbase. Despite this, Bluesky says it’s not changing its stance connected blockchains:
This does not alteration the truth that the Bluesky app and the AT Protocol do not usage blockchains aliases cryptocurrency, and we will not hyperfinancialize the societal acquisition (through tokens, crypto trading, NFTs, etc.)
Bluesky is moving connected a subscription, but it won’t springiness you a bluish check
Image: Bluesky
Bluesky is moving connected a premium subscription that will adhd features for illustration higher-quality video uploads and immoderate floor plan customization options. Unlike the premium subscription offered by X, however, Bluesky’s paid tier won’t boost the visibility of your posts, nor will it springiness your relationship a “verified” status. In a post connected its blog, Bluesky besides notes that the level “will ever beryllium free to use.”
“Subscription gross helps america amended the app, turn the developer ecosystem, and gives america clip to research business models beyond accepted ads,” Bluesky main operating serviceman Rose Wang wrote successful a post. “Paid subscribers won’t get typical curen elsewhere successful the app, for illustration upranking premium accounts aliases bluish checks adjacent to their names.”
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Threads tin now show you erstwhile group successful your provender are online
Illustration: The Verge
Meta is adding an “activity status” to Threads truthful that you tin spot who’s actively online arsenic you’re scrolling your feed. In a post, Threads leader Adam Mosseri pitches it arsenic a “way to thief you find others to prosecute pinch successful real-time.” The activity position will show up adjacent to your floor plan image successful the provender and connected your profile, based connected screenshots Mosseri shared.
Fortunately, if you don’t want group to cognize erstwhile you’re online, you don’t person to stock that. “Only group who person activity position turned connected will beryllium capable to spot erstwhile you’re online, and you tin move this disconnected wrong your settings astatine immoderate time,” Mosseri says.
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Mastodon switches things up to make its app a small easier to use
Mastodon is getting immoderate much-needed tweaks.
Image: Mastodon
Mastodon conscionable released type 4.3 of its web app, and CEO Eugen Rochko says its caller updates, for illustration grouped notifications, should make the unfastened societal web easier to use.
For example, a “Who to follow” carousel that shows up successful the location tab now recommends a operation of “generalized results” specified arsenic profiles that are celebrated successful your connection and personalized recommendations based connected who you follow, making it easier to find caller group you mightiness for illustration to follow, too. And arsenic a small treat, location are explanations for why you’re seeing those profiles erstwhile you click “view all.”
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Mozilla will unopen down its Mastodon server connected December 17th.
The institution is ending its Mozilla.social Fediverse research successful content moderation and will region each contented and accounts — but you still person clip to move elsewhere:
At immoderate constituent earlier Dec 17, 2024, you tin migrate your relationship to different lawsuit connected Mastodon by following these instructions.
TechCrunch notes that Mozilla had astir 270 progressive Mastodon users arsenic of Tuesday. A locator based connected the Mastodon API reports astir 8 cardinal accounts and 1 cardinal aliases truthful progressive users overall.
You mightiness commencement seeing Instagram comments connected Threads soon
Illustration: The Verge
Instagram mightiness rotation retired a measurement to stock comments connected different Instagram posts to Threads, according to Alessandro Paluzzi, who often reverse engineers Meta’s societal media apps to find coming features.
Paluzzi shared an image showing that erstwhile commenting connected an Instagram post, location could beryllium a caller dropdown paper that lets users take to stock the remark only to Instagram aliases “also stock connected Threads.”
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Does Threads person the incorrect vibe for the displaced Brazilian internet?
In today’s rumor of Garbage Day, Ryan Broderick argues that the lively Brazilian organization of X users whitethorn find a location connected Bluesky, but not truthful overmuch connected Threads, whose heavy-handed algorithmically sorted personification interface doesn’t click pinch Brazilian net culture.
A caveat from The Verge: we still don’t person charismatic numbers connected Brazilian sign-ups for Threads complete the weekend.
Bluesky adds ‘anti-toxicity’ options to limit dogpiling and dispute quote posts
If a station is being shared arsenic portion of a dogpiling effort, Bluesky users tin now limit group from linking to them directly.
Image: Bluesky
Bluesky has introduced a bunch of caller “anti-toxicity” features that purpose to thief users protect themselves against harassment and dogpiling. Announced via a caller blog post, type 1.90 of the decentralized societal media level adds devices that tin limit vulnerability to unwelcome interactions pinch different users, specified arsenic an action to detach your station from personification else’s quote of it.
The update allows users to position each the posts that quote a station they’ve made, past detach their original station truthful it tin nary longer beryllium seen beneath the different user’s commentary — preventing readers from seeing it and clicking done to engage. You tin already trim disconnected engagement by blocking a quote poster, but detachment offers a little drastic option.
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Threads is giving Fleets a shot.
Meta is now testing posts that will vanish aft conscionable 24 hours, the institution confirmed to TechCrunch. (You whitethorn callback Twitter’s short-lived version of this, Fleets.)
When replying to one, you’ll spot a timer adjacent to the person’s name, on pinch a banner astatine the apical that says the station will disappear, taking immoderate replies pinch it, the outlet writes.
Mike Masnick is joining Bluesky’s committee of directors.
Masnick, the founder of Techdirt, wrote the “protocols, not platforms” paper that inspired Twitter to footwear disconnected the Bluesky task in 2019.
“It is, of course, breathtaking to spot thoughts I’ve expressed for really to hole the Internet really commencement to go tangible reality, which is why I’m excited to beryllium progressive pinch Bluesky to thief it proceed to move forward,” Masnick says.