Once this quota was reached, users would encounter an “exceeded rate limit” error for almost any activity on the site.
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In the wake of yet another chaotic episode fueled by Musk, users sought solace in alternative platforms, leading to a surge in growth for several competitors throughout the eventful days.
Among the array of new apps, one platform stood out as the victor: Spill. Founded by former Black Twitter employees, Spill’s primary objective is to establish a social platform that prioritizes diverse communities from its inception, rather than as an afterthought.
Although the app only recently entered a closed beta phase a few weeks ago, over 100,000 individuals created accounts on Spill during the weekend, as reported by the company.
Spill’s success in attracting high-profile celebrities to join the platform added to its popularity, with notable personalities such as Keke Palmer and Ava DuVernay joining its ranks.
Questlove, the acclaimed musician from The Roots, even promoted his Spill profile by sharing a link on Twitter. Lizzo took to both Instagram and Twitter in an attempt to secure an invite to Spill.
As of the time of this publication, Spill has claimed the top spot in the social networking category on the iOS App Store and ranks third overall.
“They tried to bury us,” tweeted Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell, the CEO of Spill. “They didn’t know we were seeds.”
Bluesky, the decentralized app funded by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, also experienced significant growth over the weekend.
According to data compiled by third-party developers, Bluesky’s user base rose from approximately 184,000 on Friday to around 238,000 by Monday. These numbers would have been higher if not for Bluesky’s invite-only status.
Post, an alternative Twitter platform focused on publishers, revealed that its daily active users had quadrupled, while new signups had increased tenfold since Saturday when Twitter users began encountering rate-limiting issues. Post, however, declined to provide specific user figures.
While Twitter’s temporary rate-limiting measures appears to be serious, each major misstep by the Musk-led platform drives more users to explore alternative options.
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Mastodon, which conveniently launched its Android version over the weekend, emerged as an early frontrunner among Twitter competitors. Prior to Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, Mastodon boasted around 380,000 monthly active users.
Within two months, the open-source, federated platform witnessed a surge to 2.5 million monthly active users. Although that number has since dipped to around 1.4 million, it still represents more than triple its user base from the previous year.