Is Post News a real Twitter alternative for journalists?

The social media landscape recently got a new addition — Post News.

Founded by Noam Bardin, former chief executive officer of the satellite navigation company Waze, for now it’s a simple website that allows you to sign up, create an account and post content updates. Attempting to contrast itself with other social media platforms, Post promises to be a “civil place to debate ideas”. With content moderation, it is pitching the idea of a good-old internet that was fun and made us smart. 

As of late last year, Post had 180,000 people on the waitlist and was working on letting more people in as quickly as possible; everyone can sign up now without a waitlist. 

In the wake of Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, Post managed to capture the attention of American media, and there are good reasons for that. Post has been founded by Bardin, the Israeli tech entrepreneur who sold his last company Waze to Google in 2013 for about a billion dollars. Waze was one of the most talked about acquisitions at the time, with Facebook and Apple reportedly courting the company too. Until 2021, Bardin was working at Google and growing Waze. His new move then was bound to make noise. 

A second and bigger reason for Post’s appeal though is that its first investor is Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most popular venture capitalists in Silicon Valley and the first to have invested in Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Slack and Coinbase. Horowitz’s presence gives the impression that perhaps something big is on the cards for Post as well. Post has undoubtedly seen a strong start, along with a very well-timed launch.

According to TechCrunch, Post’s beta version launch was pushed up to November 2022, probably to exploit the unexpected Twitter exodus and counter the many platforms that were welcoming new users. But the big question now is – can Post keep up the momentum and become a real alternative to Twitter? Or will it meet the fate of Andreessen Horowitz-backed Clubhouse that rode a wave of hype, but has since struggled?

Getting started with Post

After a user is signed up, they can experience the website just like any other social media platform: there are posts to be liked, commented and reposted, as well as accounts to be followed. Each profile is public, but can’t be linked from Twitter due to the website’s policies.

Just like Twitter, the feed is both individual and global-oriented. In the “explore” tab, you see content updates from the Post community. While the platform recommends accounts that you can follow, there is also an option to search for specific people. There are popular topics and a search function. Obviously, anyone can write a post. There is no character limit for long posts, but short posts can only be up to 280 characters. Hyperlinks and images can be included, along with tags and mentions.

One interesting feature of Post is an option to support individual creators. One can put paywalls on content to receive micropayments or tips from followers, which entirely go to the creator.

Micropayments have entered the chat 

The big difference between Post and Twitter or any other social media alternative is that Post was born with the idea that it will provide easier access to journalistic content. Post users will be able to read premium content without having to subscribe to the overall publication; they will have the option to directly buy single articles on the Post platform and not get tied to a subscription. In a way, Post is incorporating the pay-per-view model of news into its social network. 

It’s not a new idea as such. The pay-per-view model has been tried and tested in the news before. There is Axate, for instance, founded in 2017 by media veteran Dominic Young. There is also Blendle, first launched with about 15 top Dutch publishers and now expanding in the U.S. However, experts are divided on the utility of such a system. Sceptics say that microtransactions in the publishing world have seen one too many failures. One reason is that if newspapers are a package deal, paying a one-time subscription makes up for the overall cost of production. Basically, the unpopularity of microtransactions is explained by a limited audience and hence, limited revenue generation for the publisher. For instance, Blendle is now leaning towards subscriptions because micropayments don’t seem to be making profit.

But given the pandemic-induced plunge in advertising revenues and the prominence of digital media in general, Bardin seems to think otherwise. He states that his idea of the future newspaper is an easy-to-use feed that is simultaneously financially rewarding to editors. He writes in a tweet: “I believe the future newspaper is the feed and want to make it more civil for users, profitable for publishers and better for society.” Indeed, publishers have already begun trying out the new platform, including USA Today, Reuters and Yahoo Finance. But individuals can earn as well.

Publishers and other creators can put a cost of “Post points” on their posts – one point equals one cent, and you have to earn more than $50 to withdraw. As Rob Burgess, a US-based technology reporter and media expert, told The Fix: “I think the idea of news publishers and creators receiving micropayments for stories and other content is way overdue. I wish this system would have been invented 25 years ago.”