Leaving Twitter for Good? These Alternatives Are Worth Signing Up to

When news broke about Twitter’s alleged cessation on the morning of Friday, Nov. 18, users immediately took to the internet to express their dismay and began considering ditching the bird app for a different platform. The site’s new owner – business magnate Elon Musk – reportedly gave an ultimatum to the Twitter staff asking them to either agree to work laborious hours or leave with three months of dismissal wage.

A high-profile social networking ecosystem born in 2006, Twitter serves as a gateway for users to freely dump their thoughts – whether publicly or privately – and access the latest information on topics they care about. But with Elon’s iron-fisted leadership and arbitrary nature of decision-making, there’s an extreme feeling of uncertainty around the future of the site for the 200 million daily active users.

Elon’s erratic behavior was already evident in April, when he backed out five days after joining Twitter as one of its shareholders. Over the ensuing weeks, Elon offered to buy the platform at US$54.20 per share, according to a securities filing. Twitter accepted his offer on April 25, only for the 51-year-old to terminate his acquisition three months later. Fast forward to Oct. 28, Elon successfully closed the deal for US$44 billion after a series of waffling and dramatic back-and-forth discussions.

What followed the infamous acquisition was a slew of hullabaloos that shook the entire Twitter population. The social media platform’s top executives were fired, including CEO Parag Agrawal, general counsel Sam Edgett, and chief officers Vijaya Gadde and Ned Segal. A week later, Elon slashed 50% of the company’s 7,500 workers to scale back solely on content moderation. It came amid a chaotic rollout of Twitter’s paid verification service, which he plans to relaunch after it was abruptly halted due to the prevalence of impersonators. The most recent unfortunate event – Twitter’s top-performing employees resigned following Elon’s “extremely hardcore” mandate.

For others, the platform’s imminent collapse was nothing but a marketing tactic to increase app usage. For the millions of users who hopped on the #GoodbyeTwitter trend, it’s the final straw. Thinking of pulling out of Twitter for good? Consider migrating to these alternative social networking sites.

Mastodon

Reminiscent of both Twitter and Discord, Mastodon is an ad-free network where users can create profiles and switch between servers to interact with people. A “decentralized social network,” the app is made up of different servers, each run independently by enthusiasts (not employees). As of writing, Mastodon has eclipsed 1 million followers, with nearly half of whom registered after Elon took over Twitter in October.

Pros

• Chronological feed
• Multiple servers to discover
• No advertisements

Cons

• User base is minuscule
• Lesser reach

Counter.Social

Counter.Social takes pride in its zero-tolerance stance against hostile users, bot accounts, and fake news peddlers. It follows Twitter's format in the sense that it’s a free-for-all thought arena where users can voice out their feelings, except it’s not overstuffed with advertisements and unverified information, which makes it a good option.

Pros

• Chronological feed
• Supportive community
• No advertisements
• Strict rules against trolls

Cons

• Some countries are banned from using the app

Plurk

A pioneer in the interweb, Plurk sells itself as a “free social networking and microblogging service.” Similar to Twitter, this 14-year-old social media platform allows users to post updates through texts and links, as well as connect with friends and strangers. What sets it apart from other sites is its timeline that shows plurks – the counterpart of tweets – in a horizontal manner.

Pros

• You can segregate friends by “cliques”
• Threaded conversations
• Unique interface (horizontal scrolling)

Cons

• Takes time to get used to
• Horizontal scrolling may not be your cup of tea

Tumblr

Tumblr seems to be having a resurgence thanks to the reinstation of the platform’s “adult content,” which made up a huge part of its ultra-visual and art-friendly online presence. This free social networking website lets users post a flurry of content to their customizable blog including images, videos, music, and GIFs. Just as with Twitter, Tumblr users must follow a blog to keep up with the trends.

Pros

• Diversity of blogs
• You can build your own fan base
• Safe space for artists
• Multiple niche communities

Cons

• Explicit posts are only a search away for minors to see

Reddit

A bulletin-board-based system, Reddit’s vast number of communities called “subreddits” are a solid treat for users hoping to connect around a specific topic like music, films, K-Pop, or politics. Redditors may communicate with other folks on the site by submitting messages, links, images, and videos, which are then promoted by the members through voting. If the post receives enough upvotes, it will be bumped to the top of the “subreddit.”

Pros

• Dedicated members
• Open discussion about current topics
• Multiple “subreddits”

Cons

• Often lacks reliable sources

Facebook

Who could forget about this ancient social media platform that shaped our lives? Oh, how we miss the good old times...not! From boomers falling for clickbait posts to pages being used as a tool to lay out black propaganda, Facebook is no longer the internet darling we know it to be. The excitement of using the app just circled down the drain. But hey, if Mark Zuckerberg’s brainchild still tickles your fancy (we’re not judging), perhaps be active on Facebook again.

Pros

• Connect with friends and families
• Funny memes
• “On this day” feature

Cons

• Also “On this day” feature (nobody wants to remember the trauma of losing a loved one or an old flame)
• Polluted with fake news
• A double-edged sword “seen” feature