Feature
With concerns over Musk's takeover of Twitter and the potential ethical and moral dilemmas that come with it, many brands are seeking alternatives to the social platform.
Post.news is a newcomer to social media and promises to provide the masses with a bastion of freedom of speech, rigorous enforcement of rules via content moderation with the help of its community, and a safe haven for users that wish to avoid controversial and often hate-filled rhetoric.
What Is Post.news?
Post.news is said to be “A Social Platform for Real People, Real News and Civil Conversations.” Upon visiting the site — which is still being beta tested by those who have been accepted as early users — one is presented with the following introduction:
Remember when social media was fun, introduced you to big ideas and cool people, and actually made you smarter? Remember when it didn't waste your time and make you angry or sad? When you could disagree with someone without being threatened or insulted? We want to bring that back with Post.
According to the Post.news website, here is what contributors can do on Post:
- Write posts of any length and share them broadly.
- Comment, like, share and repost content with your opinion.
- Buy individual articles from different premium news providers so you can access multiple perspectives, not just the ones you're subscribed to.
- Read content from various sources in a clean interface without jumping to different websites.
- Have meaningful discussions with friends, strangers, experts and leaders.
- Tip creators of engaging content to help them create more of it, via integrated micro-payments.
Those who are interested in taking part in Post.news are encouraged to sign up on its waiting list:
If this sounds good to you, please join our waitlist. We are just getting started so we are missing many features, working through bugs, and just beginning to deliver our vision. Please be patient with us and help us build a kinder, more interesting place that represents our better selves.
According to a post from the founder, as of Dec. 13, Post.news has 442,000 “waitlisted” users, with 206,000 activated user accounts, 467,000 posts and has already amassed 3.2 million likes. Because Post.news is moderated by users, it is highly encouraged that users flag trolls and thusly ignore them.
Who Is Behind the Creation of Post.news?
Noam Bardin is the founder of Post.news, is based in NYC and was previously the CEO at Waze from 2009-21, and vice president of product at Google from 2013-21. Bardin has so far been very transparent about the funding of Post.news, posting in late November about those whom he has been working with. According to the post, so far he has received investment funds from Andreessen Horowitz, whose investment firm is known as A16Z, (a firm that also contributed $400 million to Musk’s Twitter acquisition) and Scott Galloway, who serves as both a close adviser and investor.
Bardin’s vision for Post.news is not to become a different version of Twitter, but rather, to be a place where all voices have a chance to be heard. He recently posted his feelings about the topic.
“I am working hard to invite conservative voices as well, we do not want to be the ‘Liberal Twitter.’ Please be respectful of opinions you disagree with. Our worth as citizens of a democracy is measured by how we treat people we disagree with, not the opinions we share. Let's make sure all people are welcome, even if we disagree with their opinions.”
Related Article: Message to Marketers: Twitter Might Make It (Emphasis on 'Might')
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Are Marketers and Advertisers Welcome on Post.news?
Bardin’s vision for Post.news is that it will become a “virtual watercooler for journalists,” and a new paradigm for the consumption of news. Post.news wants to be seen as a place where users can access premium news content without subscriptions or ads, and where news publishers and independent writers are able to share their articles on the site under a paywall. This would enable Post.news users to pay for access to individual articles from news sources as an alternative to purchasing subscriptions to news sites.
While this may be great news for journalists and publishers, as well as users, it may not be good news for marketers and advertisers. It’s not that marketers, advertisers and brands cannot play a role on the site; however, they will be limited to posting relevant, informative or entertaining content, rather than running advertisements or posting promotional material.
Related Article: Twitter vs. Mastodon: The Marketing Reality
Not Everyone Is Ready to Completely Abandon Twitter
John Egan, an Austin, Texas-based content marketing strategist and content creator, told CMSWire that although Post.news is an intriguing alternative to Twitter, he's not ready to jump ship on Elon — yet. "I still find Twitter to be quasi-useful, but not as useful as I once did. I once was a Twitter addict! I joined Twitter in 2009 and was a huge fan. But over the years, I have found its importance in the social media sphere to have waned." Like many Twitter users, he's found that it's become a cesspool of negativity.
The effectiveness of using Twitter for advertising and promotion has waned as well, forcing brands to focus their efforts on other social platforms. Egan pointed out the latest research from the Pew Research Center, which showed that only 27% of U.S. adults use Twitter, compared with 70% for Facebook, 31% for LinkedIn and 30% for TikTok. “At this stage, I'd rather focus on Facebook and LinkedIn as my primary social media platforms, given their broader reach, especially for business purposes.”
Kati Wrenn, social media specialist at Sole Strategies, a political campaign fundraising strategy service, told CMSWire that although an alternative to Twitter is good for those who feel strongly about the issue, she believes that it's likely to appeal to a very niche group of people. "It’s not easy to build a social media platform from scratch, much less have that platform gain enough momentum to benefit brands and organizations," said Wrenn, who, like Egan, believes that it's time to focus one's attention back on current social platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, "at least until we know how this will play out."
Final Thoughts on Post.news: Potential for Journalists, Publishers
By having alternatives to Twitter and other social media platforms, brands have more opportunities to connect and resonate with their customers.
Although Post.news still has a long way to go in order to be competitive with other platforms, its focus on polite, civil, user-moderated conversations, and freedom of speech for all parties, has the potential to become a new paradigm for news-hungry users, journalists and publishers.
