Meta is reportedly developing a Twitter rival. Picture: Dado Ruvic/Reuters
META is developing a Twitter rival, say reports.
The parent company of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is believed to making a text-based app like the microblogging app that has been struggling under its new owner, Elon Musk, 51.
A company rep told “BBC News”: “We’re exploring a standalone decentralised social network for sharing text updates.
“We believe there’s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.”
This comes amid the Tesla founder spending $44 billion (about R807bn in today’s currency) on the site and slashing more than half its staff, which is believed to be the reason why it keeps experiencing major service outages for hours at a time. Elon has also been hit with a wave of lawsuits from former employees concerning their termination and dips in ad revenue.
The new social media service – which according to Moneycontrol, has been nicknamed P92 – will allow users to sign in via their Instagram accounts.
It is also believed to be similar to Mastodon, a decentralised social media server launched in 2016.
This project comes after Meta failed to attract younger users to their flagship product Facebook, which Mark Zuckerberg founded while he was a student at Harvard, a tale that inspired the 2010 “The Social Network” starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake.
Meta have been struggling to reap their financial investment into their metaverse product, which allows users to dive into a virtual world. Instagram has also been facing massive competition.
BANG ShowBiz Tech