Instagram, which is owned by Meta Platforms, is planning to introduce a text-based app to compete with Twitter, according to Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the matter. According to the article, the project is being tested with influencers and select producers by Facebook’s parent corporation.
According to Alex Heath, a Verge reporter, in a newsletter, Meta has been contacting talent agencies and celebrities to gauge their interest in using an early version of the app, which will be linked to Instagram.
“The decentralized app is built on the back of Instagram but will be compatible with some other apps like Mastodon,” according to a newsletter by Lia Haberman, who teaches social and influencer marketing at UCLA in California.
Instagram did not respond immediately to a request for comment from Bloomberg. Because of Elon Musk’s messy takeover of Twitter, some users have been compelled to look for alternatives, providing a market opportunity.
Linda Yaccarino: Twitter’s New CEO
Elon Musk has named a new CEO of Twitter, less than six months after his acrimonious acquisition of the social media business.
According to the billionaire, Linda Yaccarino, the former chief of advertising at NBCUniversal, will be in control of the site’s business operations, as reported by the BBC.
“Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app,” he stated on Twitter, confirming his decision a day after teasing fans by revealing that he had found new employment but did not reveal their identity.
Yaccarino was raised in an Italian-American family. After graduating from Penn State, she worked for Turner Entertainment for 15 years before joining NBCUniversal, where she oversaw 2,000 employees and was involved in the development of the company’s streaming service.
Her work has been defined by close collaboration with prominent corporations, where she has identified opportunities for product placement and persuaded them to advertise alongside television series, particularly ones known for edgy content, such as Sex and the City when it first aired.
She has also formed relationships with companies in emerging media such as Apple News, Snapchat, and YouTube.
She was described as a busy, married mother of two children, then ages 13 and 9, in a 2005 feature in an industry newspaper.
Claire Atkinson of Business Insider has been following Ms. Yaccarino’s career for the past two decades and feels her background in advertising may aid Twitter, which has seen its ad revenues plummet since Mr. Musk’s acquisition.
