Twitter alternatives that gained momentum after Elon Musk tookover are suddenly experiencing a plunge in downloads. What has staying power, and who will be the next Clubhouse?

This illustration photo shows Elon Musk and a Twitter logo in Warsaw, Poland, 30 November 2022.
Elon Musk’s chaos at Twitter was a big boost for smaller competitors.

There have never been so many alternatives to Twitter before, even though none of them seem to be a replacement.

Twitter users were envious of the service long before Elon Musk arrived. It has been a constant fixture for more than a decade thanks to its potent mix news, opinion and comedy. It is also easy to use, which is a hallmark of American-born social networking companies. Mastodon isn’t easy to use, despite its many benefits.

David Carr, senior insights manager at SimilarWeb who has been following Mastodon’s progress, stated that “there is a usability obstacle.” “You must choose a server, and people don’t like making decisions. It’s more like “Just tell me what I should do.”

However, Mastodon and potential Twitter competitors have grown since Musk took over Twitter at the beginning of October, according to data from Insider. Over the past two months, daily usage of Mastodon and Counter Social has increased dramatically. At least half a dozen Twitter-like platforms, including Post.News and Spoutible, Mozilla.Social, Bluesky and Mozilla.Social, were launched in beta recently or will be soon. They were all founded by Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter.

It’s the right time to use a text-based platform as a way to challenge Twitter’s hold on its users. Investors are seeking to invest in new social media companies as they feel that not only Twitter but also Instagram and Facebook have lost some of the edge. Antitrust authorities have limited Big Tech M&A so that these emerging services won’t be acquired. However, they will likely grow independently.

People are open to trying new things, and that is the most important thing. Any of these platforms can be the next Twitter with refinement and great features. They could also fail and become the Clubhouse. Already there are signs that something is wrong with several of these new offerings. Downloads have fallen recently, which suggests that interest might already be waning.

Below is a comprehensive look at the various platforms that Musk has made available and how they have performed since Musk’s takeover of Twitter.

Mastodon

Mastodon’s emphasis upon decentralization appeals only to the tech-savvy. Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Pictures

Eugen Rochko founded Mastodon in Germany in 2016. The only thing truly new about Mastodon is its popularity as a Twitter alternative. It’s a text-based social network, or “microblogging”, site that allows users to create and manage their own servers or “instances.” Before being allowed to post or use the platform, new users must find a server and be admitted.

The hashtag TwitterMigration trended on Mastodon in early November as Twitter users created accounts during Musk’s chaotic takeover. Ex-Twitter employees set up their own Mastodon server, Macaw.Social, after Musk implemented his first round Mass layoffs.

According to SimilarWeb data, Mastodon’s website traffic increased 1,000% in November on 200 of its most popular servers. Although the platform hosts more than 1,000 servers, some of them only have one user. Apptopia data shows that iOS app downloads have increased by more than 4,000% in the past month. Daily active users are increasing by 6,000% to over 1 million. Downloads have dropped by 52% in the last month. The number of daily users has remained steady at 1.4million, a significant increase over the usage before Musk tookover Twitter. This is a big improvement from the 20,000 to 20,000 average daily users.

Hive Social

Raluca Pop (now 24 years old) launched Hive in 2019. Hive, unlike Mastodon is a central platform. The user interface of Hive is simpler and more similar to that of Instagram or Twitter. All you need to create an account and begin posting is basic information. It can be described as a mix of Instagram and Twitter, with an emphasis on images and text, and similar features such as comments, likes, re-posting, and likes. There are also easy-to-add music and color themes.

The service, like Mastodon has experienced huge growth ever since Musk took over Twitter. According to Apptopia data, the iOS app has seen a 290,000% increase in downloads to 1.5 million users since Oct. 24, and daily users have increased by 660,000% to 321,000. Hive’s 88% decrease in downloads during November may be partly due to a major security problem that was revealed at the end. It still has more than 500,000 users per day.

Counter Social

Counter Social’s homepage, a new alternative to Twitter

Counter Social was launched in 2020 by The Jester, a pseudonymous hacktivist. It is not trying be all things for all people. However, it blocks access to entire countries like Russia, China, and Iran. The interface is unique and defaults to a dashboard with a few columns of tweets, similar to TweetDeck. It updates constantly, giving it a more dynamic feel than other social media platforms. There is an upgrade for $4.99 per month that unlocks many features including live streaming of network news, emergency radio traffic, file sharing, voice calls, and ephemeral files.

Although the platform has been less well-known than Mastodon and Hive, it has grown significantly in the wake Musk’s Twitter acquisition. Apptopia reports that it has reached 110,000 iOS app downloads, an increase of 4,500% over October. Daily users have increased by 2,500% to around 18,000 since then. Although monthly usage is up by 44%, it has seen a decline in downloads over the past month, similar to Mastodon or Hive. However, 83% of those who downloaded have stopped using the app.

Post.News (beta)

Post was launched in November. This was because Noam Bardin, founder of Waze, wanted to capitalize upon the moment Musk created when people were actively searching for alternatives to Twitter. It might have worked. Post is still in beta and has over 300,000 users. There are also more than 600,000. People on a waiting list to join Post, according to Bardin. Post also received funding from Scott Galloway (VC fund Andreessen Horowitz) and Scott Galloway (NYU professor and media personality).

Bluesky (expected launch in 2023)

Bluesky was born in 2019 as a research project under Jack Dorsey. It is currently being developed independently of the platform he founded. Bluesky was created as a social network protocol that is decentralized. Dorsey has not shared much information about it. Bluesky opened up signups to a waitlist in October, just a few months before Musk took over Twitter. It stated that its beta would “launch soon”

Spoutible (expected launch in 2023)

Spoutible is a product of Bot Sentinel. This tool was created by Christopher Bouzy and identifies, tracks, and flags Twitter accounts or Twitter bots that are participating in targeted or coordinated online disinformation campaigns and attacks. Spoutible was announced at the beginning of December. It is described as a social platform that allows users to “spout off” without being harassed. The beta version of the platform will be available in January.

Mozilla.Social (expected launch in 2023)

Mozilla, which runs Firefox browser, has announced the latest Twitter alternative. Mozilla announced this week that it will launch its own instance of the Firefox browser in the “Fediverse”. The Fediverse, a combination of universe and federation, is basically a network of interconnected servers that interact with each other and offer their own software packages. Mastodon, for instance, is part of the Fediverse. Mozilla stated that “an open, global, decentralized and global social service that places the needs of people first” was not only possible but necessary. Mozilla.Social will be available in the early 2023.

Are you a social media professional or do you have insight to share with others? Kali Hays can be reached at khays@insider.com or via secure messaging app Signal (949-280-0267) or Twitter DM @hayskali. Reach out with a non-work device.

Business Insider has the original article.
—————————————————————————————————————————————
By: insider@insider.com (Kali Hays)
Title: Twitter alternatives that got traction after Elon Musk takeover are suddenly seeing downloads plunge. Which has staying power and who is the next Clubhouse?
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter-rivals-downloads-plunge-mastadon-hive-social-bluesky-2022-12
Published Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2022 13:15:00 +0000