How X survived Bluesky, Mastodon, Post, Threads and an ocean of critics
X, formerly known as Twitter , is not the force to be reckoned with that it once was, but experts say efforts to present an alternative to the platform have fallen flat. Since mercurial technology tycoon Elon Musk took over Twitter in 2022, many of the worst fears from users have been realised: layoffs were plentiful, and included Twitter's content moderation team, which built policies to protect…
X, previously known as Twitter, has managed to survive despite the challenges posed by various social media platforms and critics. Since Elon Musk took over Twitter in 2022, the platform has faced numerous issues, including layoffs, restoration of banned accounts, and the promotion of far-right, xenophobic, and racist ideas. The addition of these controversial views led to a mass exodus of users, advertisers, and the renaming of the platform to X. Despite these setbacks, X has demonstrated remarkable resilience, according to social media analyst and consultant Matt Navarra.
He emphasizes that X maintains a strong institutional graph, attracting various influential entities such as journalists, politicians, and government agencies. These entities find it difficult to abandon X due to the time and effort invested in building their social networks and communication platforms on the site.
Several alternative platforms have attempted to challenge X's influence, but none have been successful in significantly denting its dominance. Mastodon, one of the first contenders, was created in 2016 by developers who aimed to build a decentralised, open-source, and community-owned social network. Although Mastodon gained some attention following the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk, its decentralised design made it challenging for users to navigate and find their previous Twitter connections. The platform currently boasts 700,000 monthly active users, far from overtaking X.
Other attempts at competing with X include Bluesky, Threads, Vero, and Donald Trump's Truth Social. However, none of these platforms have managed to gain significant traction and threaten X's influence. Bluesky, started by Twitter's inventor Jack Dorsey in 2019, aimed to create an open-source platform similar to Twitter. However, it became associated with left-leaning politics and the anti-Trump movement, which led to accusations of being a liberal echo chamber.
Despite this, Bluesky has reportedly created 45 million accounts, but its chief executive Toni Schneider acknowledged that the platform seeks to change its association with specific political groups.
Written by urgent.news from The National UAE's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
