Instagram's New Twitter Competitor Leaks (theverge.com) 25
Lia Haberman via her ICYMI Substack newsletter appears to have obtained a leaked marketing slide detailing the features of Intagram's rumored text-based Twitter competitor. The new app, codenamed P92, Project 92 or Barcelona, could arrive as soon as late June. The Verge reports: In the app, you'll see a feed, and you can make text posts up to 500 characters long with attached links, photos, and videos. The app looks pretty much like if you mixed Instagram and Twitter together, based on two screenshots included in the leaked marketing slide. And Meta will apparently have some good moderation controls from the start, "equipping you with settings to control who can reply to you and mention your account," the slide says. Any accounts you've blocked on Instagram will apparently carry over.
Perhaps most significantly, though, the new Instagram text app will have an element of decentralization as well. "Soon, our app will be compatible with certain other apps like Mastodon," Instagram's slide says. "Users on these other apps will be able to search for, follow and interact with your profile and content if you're public, or if you're private and approve them as followers." (Presumably that compatibility will come through ActivityPub, which Meta has been exploring alongside other tech companies.)
Perhaps most significantly, though, the new Instagram text app will have an element of decentralization as well. "Soon, our app will be compatible with certain other apps like Mastodon," Instagram's slide says. "Users on these other apps will be able to search for, follow and interact with your profile and content if you're public, or if you're private and approve them as followers." (Presumably that compatibility will come through ActivityPub, which Meta has been exploring alongside other tech companies.)
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More alternatives equals more free speech. It does not equal more popularity though. Freedom of speech is not the same as people wanting to listen to it.
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Recently disillusioned with Twitter after noticing all my tweet replies were entirely hidden from view - censorship still reins there! Hoping Instagram come up with a compelling alternative. Also hoping they don’t ditch the rumoured integration/compatibility with decentralised systems.
If you would share the Twitter handle in public perhaps @elon could check it out for you.
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I doubt Elon has the time to look into issues like this.
Elon loves shadowbanning [techdirt.com]. Look into it? It's by design.
This is a bad joke (Score:2)
BTW, has anyone noticed that if you're dumb enough you can pay $8 per month to read Slashdot on Twitter? [twitter.com] How did Slashdot get the stink of Musk on it?
Re: This is a bad joke (Score:2)
That's easy.. zucky is still stuck in the meta verse pouting alone.
A couple of middle managers and vps are running mastadon instance and claiming at as their own hence compatibility
But of course (Score:2)
"Soon, our app will be compatible with certain other apps like Mastodon,"
In other words the app will be able to link Mastodon accounts and P92-Barcelona-whatever accounts for more privacy violation and more deanonymizing.
Here's a hint friends: don't taint the few remaining bastions of freedom from corporate surveillance with closed-source apps made by big data sumbitches - for your and everybody else's sake on Mastodon. Please...
How much does it cost (Score:2)
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Probably the same as it cost to certify Gender Denier promoting Gender Affirming Mutilation/Castration "Care" for children?
That's a dumb troll. Nobody is denying gender. Work on your grammar. 2/10.
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> How much does it cost to be certified as a white nationalist?
For you it's free - no worries.
Barcelona? (Score:2)
Facebook is gonna sell AMD Opterons to compete with Twitter?
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> Facebook is gonna sell AMD Opterons to compete with Twitter?
No, that's Barthelona.
Why is instagram trying to not be instagram? (Score:2)
It is one of the most recognisable brands on the planet, and yet it seems desperate to not be itself. Last time I logged in my feed was 100% videos (despite the people also posting normal footage). If I wanted that I would have opened the TikTok app.
I'm not sure if Instagram is still like that. It's been months since I opened it. That's the direction they are going. They had one job, and failed, so I couldn't be ****ed using it anymore.
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It is one of the most recognisable brands on the planet, and yet it seems desperate to not be itself
Fucktardberg just wants to maximize eyeballs/ad revenue, which means doing anything necessary to further that goal, without giving a shit what users actually want (because they need to serve their actual customers, which are the shareholders, not users).
If that means completely revamping a product so much that it's not even recognizable, well so be it!
One-way compatibility? How generous... (Score:2)
From TFS:
Users on these other apps will be able to search for, follow and interact with your profile and content if you're public, or if you're private and approve them as followers.
So will this work in reverse? Will InstaTwitter's userbase be able to see posts from Mastodon users in their search results? Or is this just typical walled-garden selfishness?
Without reciprocity, it seems like just free advertising for people using the InstaTwitter platform with no overt benefit to those who use open platforms.
Short text is getting old. (Score:1)