Wacky couple of months for Twitter, eh?

er… I guess it’s been a wacky year for Twitter.

But it seems like we’re entering a new phase. Competitors are popping up left and right.

And I noticed a pattern in how they’re built / marketed. Let’s break them down and rank them by how likely they are of succeeding in taking down Twitter:

HIGHEST LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCEEDING:

These are platforms built by companies with an existing user base. This allows them to utilize network effects quicker than fledgling competitors that have to solve the “cold start problem.”

• Threads (extension of Instagram

• Notes (extension of Substack)

Case in point:

MEDIUM LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCEEDING:

These are open-source and decentralized platforms, which many Twitter users have expressed interest in. This means they have independent servers with their own moderators and users—kinda like Reddit—which ensures no one app can monopolize the broader network, and higher user privacy.

• Mastodon

• Bluesky

Threads will also reportedly use decentralized technology in the future.

LOWEST LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCEEDING:

SPILL is a new platform that’s designing a subcategory of social media called Visual Conversation.

All of the platforms above look kinda similar to Twitter. Spill looks completely different, but still incorporates short text-style posts and lets users track trends (via the Spillboard).

Another interesting note here is that it was co-founded by a former Social & Editorial team lead at Twitter, Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell.

So why is this least likely to succeed? Because it’s hard to start a brand new social media platform and Spill is up against competitors with infinite funds.

But they’re going left while everyone else is going right. They’re different. And that’s 100% the right direction for startups to take if they’re entering a mature market. If Spill wins, they’ll win big.

Snippets

• 🗣️ | Twitter is (ironically) blowing up about Threads. Multiple high-profile people like MKBHD, the CEO of Morning Brew, and even former Twitter employees are weighing in on their opinions.

• 📖 | Databricks’ Competitive Intel Lead, Mayur Palta, is publishing a book called “Outcompete: How startups and billion dollar companies outsmart the competition.” Preorder here.

• 🥊 | Here’s a cool cheat sheet to help you conduct competitive research.

Quick Tip

New Podcast: Becoming a PMM Creator

Tamara is the VP Product Marketing at Kajabi, an all-in-one platform that helps creators and entrepreneurs package their knowledge into profitable online courses, coaching programs, membership sites, and more.

Tamara is also a creator herself, writing a newsletter and moderating a community both called PMM Office Hours.

Here's what we chatted about:

• Her journey from PMM to Chief Strategy Officer and then back to PMM

• How she got her role at Kajabi, even though they weren't hiring for it

• Different opportunities for PMMs that want to become creators

From the Community

1,000+ messages are shared every month by Product Marketers and Competitive Intel practitioners in the Healthy Competition community. Here are some recent threads that got the folks talking.

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🥥🍍🥑 Fruity Memes 🍎🍉🫐

Stay Healthy, my friends.

💚Andy