In response to the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg is preparing an alternative: “Project 92”. This project, emanating from the Meta group, plans to launch a service comparable to Twitter integrated into Instagram.
A new wind seems to be blowing through the social media landscape. While Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla, acquired Twitter, Mark Zuckerberg, the founding father of Facebook — now Meta — is no exception.
The information was shared by numerous sources, including The Verge: Mark Zuckerberg would prepare in the shadows an alternative to Twitter within his group. An enigmatic project nicknamed “Project 92”which would consist of launching a service comparable to Twitter on the Instagram platform.
An old interest in Twitter
For those who follow Mark Zuckerberg’s journey closely, this information should come as no surprise.
Indeed, already in 2008, he had made a proposal to buy Twitter, up to 500 million euros. If this offer did not succeed, the interest of the founder of Facebook for the microblogging platform has never wavered.
Project 92: a “Twitter” version of Instagram
According to leaked information, Project 92 would be to create a service equivalent to Twitter, integrated with Instagram. It would work as a separate service, using some Instagram technology, and the same user credentials.
Screenshots of the project have been shared, showing an overview of the service. Although this is an internal prototype for now, these images come directly from Meta’s senior executives, who presented them at a company-wide meeting.
An independent application, integrated with ActivityPub
According to rumors, Project 92 should lead to a completely independent application. The latter would be based on parts of Instagram technologies, and would be integrated with ActivityPub, the decentralized protocol for social networks.
This integration means users of the new app could transfer their accounts and subscribers to other ActivityPub-enabled apps, including Mastodon. A flexibility that could appeal to users, who are increasingly concerned about the portability of their data.
A still uncertain launch
For now, the launch date of Project 92 remains unknown. However, work on this project would have started in January 2023. Alternatively, the app’s public name could be Threadsalthough this has yet to be confirmed.
Case to follow.
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