Facebook owner Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has shown a relentless push to take the dominance war right to Twitter’s doorstep with the launch of a rival platform is news that will no doubt draw interest among sector players and users.
On Friday, leaked screenshots, which on social media gave a glimpse of what the new app, codenamed “Project 92”, will look like, with news outlet BBC reporting that it had spoken to Meta employees who confirmed that the photos are genuine.
Further, BBC reported that Meta’s chief product officer Chris Cox had confirmed that the tech giant is in the middle of developing code for the platform which is set to be released at an unspecified date in coming days.
According to information gathered by the Business Daily and from the appearance of the leaked screenshots, the new standalone app will be anchored on Instagram – also owned by Meta – and will theoretically allow users to take their existing Instagram accounts and followers with them to other apps that support activity pub, which is the decentralised social media protocol.
The Meta app, which Cox reportedly called “our response to Twitter” on Friday, will be designed to use Instagram’s account system to automatically populate user data.
This means that users will be able to sign in with their Instagram username and password, with their followers, user bio and verification transferring over to the new app.
If successful, the project will be the first to directly take on Twitter, which has been facing tumultuous times since it was taken over by dollar billionaire Elon Musk in October last year, with users heightening criticism against the platform amid accusations of misinformation and hate speech promotion.
Upon taking over Twitter ownership, Musk introduced a raft of changes that include a new verification policy that requires users to pay subscription fee to retain their verification marks that symbolise authenticity of accounts.
The move elicited a wave of uproar from tweeps who were opposed to the charges, with some questioning how the app would protect against impersonators who pay for a similar username that appears indistinguishable from the real person.
Musk, at the time, downplayed the concerns, terming the shift as one that took power to the people.
“To all complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost $8 per month for Blue,” Musk tweeted in response to the growing uproar.
In Kenya, companies and State agencies are now required to part with a Sh132,520 monthly fee under the new verification policy after the social media giant phased out the legacy blue badge and stripped verified accounts with less than one million followers of their verification marks starting April 1.
Chiefs, directors, staff and subsidiaries whose accounts are affiliated to subscribed entities are required to pay Sh6,626 monthly for the badges.
The stability deficiency and trust erosion from the public has been linked to the platform’s recent financial woes as advertisers occasioned a boycott citing deterioration in moderation standards, which has led to a surge in verified impersonator accounts.
Last week, New York Times reported that Twitter’s ad revenues in the first week of May dipped 59 percent compared to the same period last year.
Audience research tool SparkToro co-founder Rand Fishkin sees Meta’s move as a breath of fresh air in social media interactions, saying most Twitter users will most likely shift en masse once the new project is complete.
“Smart move by Meta. Twitter users and data are valuable. The platform, before Musk took over, had the potential for $100 billion plus in ad and API revenue. Meta can easily get key players to take their text posts to Project92, which is likely to start an exodus by the rest of us,” said Fishkin.
Meta is reportedly toying with the idea of publicly naming the new platform ‘Threads’, with a promise to guarantee safety, reliability and a user-friendly experience.
