FACEBOOK PARENT META IS EXPLORING AN APP THAT IS SIMILAR TO TWITTER

In an effort to oust Twitter as the global “digital town square,” Meta Platforms Inc. is considering plans to release a new social media application.

“We’re exploring a standalone decentralized 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,” a Meta spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement.

The framework that underpins Mastodon, a service similar to Twitter that debuted in 2016, will serve as the foundation for Meta’s app.

Meta could profit from the current chaos at the Elon Musk-led company, where cost-cutting has been rampant, by developing a Twitter-like app.

Twitter has been struggling to hold on to its advertising base since Musk’s takeover of the platform late last year. Companies have pulled back spending following Twitter’s move to restore suspended accounts and release a paid account verification that resulted in scammers impersonating firms.

Meta’s plans came at a time when its biggest platform, Facebook, is struggling to attract the attention of a younger audience, while its huge investments in the metaverse, a virtual world in which users interact and work, have shown little sign of paying off, at least in the near term.

It was not immediately clear when Meta would roll out the new app.

“The history of Meta is that they are much better acquirers than they are innovators or developers … as far as copying Twitter, this is just a defensive move,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman and managing member of New York-based Great Hill Capital.

“They’re just trying everything … at least with a mini blogging site like Twitter, there’s some expectation that it could start to make money out of a much quicker timeline than the metaverse investment.”