Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino is ready to battle with Meta over the Big Tech company’s expected foray into the social media microblogging space.
As word spreads about Meta’s work on a new app to rival Twitter, Ms. Yaccarino is gearing up for the first high-profile confrontation of her tenure atop the company.
“Game on!” Ms. Yaccarino tweeted Sunday, sharing a link to news of Meta’s plans.
Meta’s effort to build a Twitter competitor is not a surprise, but early previews of the forthcoming platform have captured people’s attention.
Meta said in March it was working on a “standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates” because it saw an opportunity for a new place for creators and public figures to share timely information.
Images of Meta’s plans leaked online last week, via Lia Haberman, author of the Substack newsletter ICYMI.
SEE ALSO: Meta fined record $1.3 billion and ordered to stop sending European user data to U.S.
Ms. Haberman posted Friday an image to Twitter of the potential competitor and wrote on her Substack that the platform may become available late next month.
Meta has previewed the new app for select users, according to Ms. Haberman, who said one of the users told her the platform will be connected to people’s Instagram accounts. The integration means users will be able to transfer their followers from Instagram to the new app.
The new Meta platform is not the only one looking to overtake Twitter’s grip on the real-time information market. Substack has developed a short-form posting service called Notes that irritated Twitter owner Elon Musk.
Before hiring Ms. Yaccarino to oversee Twitter, Mr. Musk scrapped with Substack. He branded Notes as a “Twitter clone” last month and penalized links to Substack on his platform. Twitter ultimately lifted its efforts to limit Substack engagement.
Mr. Musk then announced Ms. Yaccarino’s hiring, and she has adopted a different approach to tech platforms looking to encroach upon Twitter’s business. Rather than seeking to restrict information about the newest effort to rival Twitter, Ms. Yaccarino shared the news in a message on Twitter that welcomed the fight.
Whether Meta, Substack or other platforms can successfully challenge Twitter, they may not have a plan to rival Mr. Musk’s aspiration for transforming Twitter into X. Mr. Musk has said Ms. Yaccarino will help him turn Twitter into “X, the everything app” while sharing little about Twitter’s expected next chapter.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.