Are We Witnessing the End of Twitter?

Today we are in social media overload. Every minute, every day, a new trend, viral post, or even a new app emerges. At some point, it can be overwhelming for companies to rely on it for marketing to the average consumer. However, like any business tool, some fall by the wayside. That’s what we may be seeing with Twitter. Since the company's acquisition by Elon Musk in 2022, the social media platform has been under scrutiny for numerous reasons, including the rise of hate speech and features that weren’t well received by the public. Recently, Twitter limited how many tweets a user can read daily. For most people that was the final straw. Since then, a domino effect has come from this, including Elon Musk suing Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook. Two new potential apps may take the place of Twitter. Are we witnessing the end of Twitter?

Elon Musk is suing Mark Zuckerberg over the app, Threads, which Musk claims is copying Twitter. Twitter’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino says Twitter is a “community that can never be duplicated”. Threads launched on July 6, 2023, and has already gained 100 million users in less than a week, while Twitter traffic is tanking. While the new app is off to a strong start and is known as the “Twitter Killer,” there are a few downsides to joining the latest social media platform; the platform doesn’t have a website where you can log in like Twitter and if you want to delete your account, you would have to delete your Instagram account as well. Personally, I don’t like that I can’t choose my username, whereas in apps like TikTok, you can have your Instagram attached to your TikTok page and you can have a different user name. Threads isn’t the only app being looked at and gaining traction from social media lovers and celebrities alike. 

Take a look at Spill. Created by two former black Twitter employees, Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell, and DeVaris Brown, Spill launched in June but has gained a following since the Twitter debacle. Promoting itself as the “visual conversation at the speed of the culture,” it’s limited to 90 characters and users can create image cards of text, photos, videos, and GIFs. Spill intends to be a haven for those often overlooked and unprotected in other social media platforms; the African-American community, people of color, women, and the LGBT community. Notable African American celebs and influencers have joined the app including Questlove from the Roots, KevOnStage, and Janelle Monae. The app is invite-only as of now and in the beta stage. However, once the app goes public, the potential this app has is limitless. Spill was the number one social media app in the App Store until the launch of Threads. 

Twitter is on thin ice, and with new emerging apps locked and loaded to take its place, will Twitter even make it to the end of the year? I would hope so. I am eager to see how the two other apps will hold up, but with the plummeting results of Twitter, will the once-praised social media platform need an overhaul makeover to get back in the public’s good graces? We will have to wait and see.