Twitter remains the big dog of condensed public conversation. The all-powerful platform is the closest thing we have to a speakers’ square in the digital era, but many people are increasingly frustrated by it and looking for alternatives.
On the one hand, you have people who believe it’s curtailing free speech by banning outspoken users, and on the other hand it’s a toxic cesspool where there isn’t enough control over what’s being said.
So why not jump ship, abandon Twitter altogether and find a social platform that’s more aligned with you? There are some great alternatives out there now, and we’ve picked out the best of them.
1. Mastodon
Probably the most popular Twitter alternative currently available, Mastodon is an open-source microblogging platform filled with ‘toots’ instead of tweets. See what they did there?
Instead of being centrally hosted, Mastodon uses individual “instances” created by users, allowing you to join various instances each with their own rules, policies and codes of conduct.
Mastodon essentially lets you find instances and communities whose principles of online conduct you most agree with. This way you get to engage with the types of people you want to rather than exposing yourself to the whole world.
Toots are a bit longer than tweets, too, with 500-character limits as opposed to Twitter’s 280.
2. Gab
Swinging to the opposite end of the political spectrum, Gab has built up something of a reputation as a haven for conservatives, libertarians, and other traditionally right-leaning folk.
The principle here is free speech above all, which inevitably means a lot more unmoderated and virile content. On the other hand, maybe you see this as the worthwhile price of free speech?
Gab is where you’ll find several of the high-profile people who’ve been banned from Twitter, chief among them the infamous Alex Jones – messiah to others, weirdly watchable madman to others.
3. Amino
Once again returning to the theme of tailored social networking, Amino is a teenager-focused platform based around communities. This ensures that you can engage with people who share your interests, making it a more focused alternative to Twitter.
With over a million communities chattering away within it, Amino is pretty well established, with some of its most successful communities revolving around geek culture like video-games, movies and anime.
One of Amino’s more interesting quirks is its dedication to anonymity, to the point that you can have one name when engaging with one community, and another name for a different community.
4. Peeks
If we say “Twitter but with videos,” you’d probably think that something like that must exist already (aside from Twitter itself, which does support videos). But there isn’t a social network out there that’s as committed to the idea of short video snaps as Peeks (formerly known as Keek).
With a maximum length of 36 seconds, a video on Peeks forces you to be pithy and snappy with whatever you post. It’s almost word-free, except for a private messaging option, so it’s all about your capabilities to express yourself in front of (or behind) the camera.
Conclusion
These are the best Twitter alternatives we’ve found. Do you have anything else that we haven’t stumbled upon?
None of these social networks can match Twitter for raw popularity, but they all have more focus on tailoring your experience. Besides, maybe getting away from all that text-based noise is part of the reason you’re looking for an alternative in the first place!
Content Manager at Make Tech Easier. Enjoys Android, Windows, and tinkering with retro console emulation to breaking point.
Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox
