Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter, several applications have sounded like alternatives to this platform for those who do not agree with the tycoon's changes. But the truth is that none has established itself as a real alternative to the microblogging social network. Mastodon or Bluesky, led by the co-founder and CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, have been the closest, but have been losing steam.
Now, Meta, Mark Zuckerberg's company, is preparing a text-based application that aims to compete with Twitter from a much stronger position, which comes from having a massive user base that already has this application downloaded on their mobile. . The app is being tested with celebrities and influencers who are familiar with the subject, under the codename of P92 or “Barcelona”. The new platform would be integrated with Instagram and could be launched during the month of June or later in the summer.
As has been reported, Instagram users could use their same username and keep the same number of followers on this new social network. In addition, those who have the verification seal will also be able to keep it. The so-called P62 or "Barcelona" could publish texts of up to 500 characters. As in Twitter, you could also add images and short videos; in this case up to five minutes.
Lia Haerman, a professor of social media and influencer marketing at the University of California (UCLA), has leaked the first images of the P92 preview. In them you can see that the application will have an aesthetic very similar to that of Twitter, with a timeline in which the publications will be seen. In this case, she highlights the fact that the profile photo appears on the right and not on the left, as usual.
The publications will have the usual reactions: 'like', comment and send. At the bottom of the screen, with the same aesthetic that Instagram presents, the options are shown, from left to right, to access the timeline, search, add a new publication, the publications that have been cataloged with the 'like' heart ', and access to the user profile.
Haerman added another important aspect to highlight in his newsletter: "the decentralized application is based on Instagram, but it will be compatible with other applications, such as Mastodon." In her post on Twitter, she expands on this information and explains that "users of these other applications will be able to search, follow and interact with your profile and content whether it is public or private and approve them as followers."
"This allows you to reach new audiences without additional work. Plus, creators may be eligible to be recommended to people who don't already follow them." In the absence of new information, we will only have to wait if the new platform is launched this coming June or if it takes a couple more months.
