Early last month, rumors surfaced that Meta was considering creating its own replacement for Twitter, which could attract "fugitives from Twitter looking for a new home."
Meta confirmed this information in early March:
"We are exploring an autonomous, decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We think there is an opportunity to create a separate space where creators and public figures can share their interests."
The concept certainly sounds a lot like Twitter, and there is speculation that the project, originally called "P92," would have been created to attract Twitter users looking for an alternative after the various changes that took place in the app under the new leadership of Elon Musk.
Now the project seems to be moving forward with an established internal prototype of a new Meta text app called "Barcelona."
According to app researcher Alessandra Paluzzi, the standalone app is now "Instagram for your thoughts," at least in the current prototype. The release date is currently a secret, and we don't know exactly when it will launch, but the concept involves a text-based message feed.
In some ways, it resembles the "Channels" feature recently added to Instagram, which allows public personalities to broadcast messages to their followers.
As more and more discussions move to messenger rather than public feeds, "Channels" is designed to cater to this by providing a more private and intimate discussion interface for creators and their fans.
The idea of "Barcelona" sounds similar, though it is presented as a separate app that allows users to follow the updates of other users.
Here's what we know about the Barcelona project so far:
Barcelona will be a separate app that you can log into using your Instagram credentials;
Barcelona will also use your Instagram credentials as your user in the new app;
Barcelona will have a maximum message length of 500 characters;
Barcelona will be decentralized, though it's not yet clear what that means in the Meta context;
And, indeed, the project is moving forward, which is especially interesting when you consider the number of staff reductions and Meta's internal streamlining in general.
This suggests that Meta sees considerable potential here. And as Musk continues to cause concern on Twitter, many users do have a desire to get their hands on an alternative.
The problem is that most businesses are already focused on Twitter and are used to reporting their updates there. To create a real alternative, you need a lot of current Twitter users to switch to the new app, and only then will it become really valuable, with the same key Twitter users posting in the new space.
Such a transition will take time, but perhaps Meta is in a better position than other companies because of its scale to gain mass distribution and scale on the new social network.
We look forward to the development and potentially a fight for users between Twitter and Barcelona.