X's alternative Post News announces closure due to inadequate growth
What's the story
Post News, a social media platform that emerged as an alternative to Twitter (now X), has declared its upcoming shutdown due to insufficient growth. The founder and ex-CEO of Waze, Noam Bardin, stated that Post News "is not growing fast enough to become a real business or a significant platform." Launched in November 2022 in closed beta, the Andreessen Horowitz-backed platform is expected to cease operations soon.
Platform features
Unique selling point and user engagement
Post News offered ad-free access to content from various publishers like Fortune, Business Insider, WIRED, and The Boston Globe. Instead of individual subscriptions, users could pay a nominal fee per article. After its public launch in early 2023, the platform garnered approximately 430,000 sign-ups. Despite launching a mobile app and a real-time notification system for future enhancements, Bardin admitted that the platform's expenses exceeded user engagement.
Reflection
Bardin reflects on the shortcomings
Bardin acknowledged the platform's achievements, stating, "We built a toxicity-free community, a platform where Publishers engage, and an app that validated many theories around Micropayments and consumers' willingness to purchase individual articles." However, he also admitted its failure to achieve rapid consumer adoption. Bardin added, "A consumer business, at its core, needs to show rapid consumer adoption and we have not managed to find the right product combination to make it happen."
User data
Post News to enable user data download
Starting next week, Post News will allow users to download their posts. Additionally, users can withdraw their remaining funds used for article payments and creator tips until May 31. This move comes as part of the platform's closure process, ensuring that users have access to their data and funds before the business operations are ceased completely.
Competition
Other X alternatives continue to thrive
Post News' struggle is not unique, as Pebble, another X competitor, also shut down in November 2023. However, several other alternatives to X continue to flourish. These include decentralized platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky that are part of the fediverse — a network of platforms allowing content sharing with other social platforms. Threads, another member of the fediverse, introduced its fediverse beta in March and recently welcomed pop star Taylor Swift to its user base.