Twitter has long helped businesses build a brand and community. However, the recent turmoil surrounding the Elon Musk acquisition and the ensuing layoffs and talent flight have prompted some companies to consider alternatives.

Here is an overview of alternatives to Twitter. This list includes established social networks with functions to communicate with followers in a Twitter-like way, as well as apps with global communities, civil debate, less disinformation and attractive design.

Alternatives to Twitter

mastodon was started in 2016 as an open-source and decentralized project by Eugen Rochko, who was dissatisfied with the state and direction of Twitter. Believing that instant global communication is too important for modern society to be owned by a single commercial enterprise, he sought to create a user-friendly microblogging product that is not owned by any central authority but remains practical for everyday use. Mastodon is ad-free and chronological. Users post with images, videos, audio, and custom emojis.

mastodon

post, founded by former Waze CEO Noam Bardin, aims to be a civic place to discuss ideas, converse freely, and learn from experts, journalists, creators, and others. The platform aims to organically grow a brand’s audience through an engaging narrative. Post will allow users to write and share posts, read and comment on content in a clean interface, and buy individual articles from premium news providers and tip makers. The platform is not yet launched, but you can join the waiting list.

Hive Social is a network for discovering information and interacting with others. Find new and trending content on the Discover page with themed communities. Post images, text, polls, questions and answers, and more. The New Questions feature helps users get to know creators. Contents in a network are displayed chronologically.

cohost is a new social media platform with two founders and one employee. Cohost is a blogging site and posts have no character limit. Users can create multiple pages for projects and shared pages. Cohost offers CSS-enabled gamified experiments called “CSS Crimes” that push the boundaries of expressive coding. The platform does not use algorithms or encourage trends and does not sell ads or data.

cohost

Plurk is a free microblogging platform similar to Twitter. Users post “plurks” of less than 360 characters and send private direct messages. Each user’s homepage has a timeline showing the chronology of posts and an optional pinned Plurk.

WT.Social, short for WikiTribune Social, is a networking and microblogging platform launched in 2019 by Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales. Users publish, discover, share and discuss messages in sub-wikis. WT.Social contains no advertising and runs on donations. The site aims to be a non-toxic, ad-free alternative to Twitter and Facebook.

koo is a global microblogging platform with over 50 million users from around 100 countries. Koo enables individuals to share views and connect with others in their native language, encouraging free speech, mutual respect and inclusivity. Follow creators, celebrities or topics. View trending hashtags, upload multiple images, self-verify your account and apply for Eminence. Publish news, polls, videos and direct messages. Schedule posts, upload multiple photos, speak to typing, translate a post, and more.

koo

amino hosts micro-networks called communities that contain topics for discussion. Create communities, videos, posts and quizzes to represent your interests. Discover in-depth live streams, long posts, reviews, analysis, fan art, commentary, fan fiction and more.

raft street enables organizations to build individual, private online communities. Organizations can measure sentiment and engage members to engage more effectively, improve retention, and build a vibrant, connected community.

discord is a social platform for voice, video and text communication. Start and run a community with moderation tools and custom member access. Set up private channels, grant members special access, and more. Discord is organized into topic-based channels where you can collaborate, share, and converse without cluttering up a group chat. Join a voice channel where friends can see each other’s online status and start conversations.

discord

countersocial, launched in 2017 by an anonymous hacktivist known as “The Jester”, is an alternative social media platform with a zero-tolerance attitude towards trolls, bot accounts and disinformation networks. CounterSocial blocks the IP ranges of abusive countries, VPNs and proxies. The platform does not serve ads or promotional content.

LinkedIn is a business networking platform that has expanded its social media capabilities in recent years, including live streaming and a news feed. Similar to Twitter, users post text updates, videos, images, and links. LinkedIn was founded in 2003 and acquired by Microsoft in 2016. The network has more than 875 million members.

tick tock is a short video app that has evolved from its musical dance origins into a leading social platform for creators, influencers and youth. TikTok enables brands to collaborate with developers and drive commerce. The app has tools for creating, promoting and measuring video content, including ready-to-use templates for creating campaigns.

tumblr is a microblogging platform founded in 2007 and owned by Automattic, the company behind WordPress and WooCommerce. Tumbler has a dedicated user base, although not as large as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The recent turmoil surrounding Twitter has resulted in a sharp tip in Tumblr Downloads.

tumblr

Snapchat is a social networking app for communication via text, images and videos. Update followers through live messaging or share events with Group Stories. Video chat with up to 16 people at the same time. Use lenses and filters while chatting. Users see stories based on their interests. Businesses can create ads and launch campaigns with advanced targeting.

Middle is an open platform for blogging with over 100 million readers. Users explore personalized ad-free recommendations, dive deep into topics, and find and follow authors and publications. Bookmark posts, highlight passages, and join the discussion of the stories. If you have a lot to say on Twitter, Medium might be the platform for it.

Reddit is a social site for news aggregation, content rating and discussion. The community posts stories, links, pictures and videos. The content is then voted up or down and organized into user-created subreddits. Reddit is a useful platform for brands to connect with users around topics.

Meta. While none of its applications match Twitter’s real-time news design, the meta’s dominant social networks – Facebook and Instagram – offer businesses tools to build followers and brand. Meta’s messaging apps (WhatsApp and Messenger) allow businesses to interact directly with customers.

Meta