TikTok adds feature to compete with Twitter

SGGPO 07/25/2023 11:31

TikTok - a popular social media platform for users to create, watch and share short videos - said it will offer text-only posts, giving users a platform that can replace Twitter, which is undergoing a major overhaul.

TikTok offers additional text post service. Photo: TikTok

According to TikTok's announcement, text posts on the platform are largely similar to the features on Meta's Instagram app - the group that launched Threads earlier this month to attract Twitter users.

Like Threads, TikTok’s expansion has many advantages, given its 1.4 billion monthly active users, according to Business of Apps. However, unlike Meta, TikTok has opted to integrate the text feature into its own app rather than launching a separate product like Threads.

The new version of TikTok is said to be more lively than posts on Twitter or Threads. Accordingly, users can add background colors, music, and stickers to posts. According to TikTok, the new version will expand "the boundaries of content creation for everyone on TikTok" as well as exploit "creativity" in comments and captions.

In addition to Threads, smaller platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Substack Notes have emerged as potential rivals to Twitter, but so far, none have been able to "dethrone" Twitter despite the turmoil the company is facing, including mass layoffs and a sharp decline in the number of advertisers.

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