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Social platforms need to stay in their lanes.
Social media is going haywire. From the launch of Threads (which saw a steep decline in engagement shortly after its debut) to Twitter’s recent rebrand under Elon Musk (bye-bye, birdie) and TikTok’s new text post feature, it’s almost impossible to keep up with the ever-shifting social media landscape. In short, comparison appears to be the name of the game—and everybody’s a copycat.
Snapchat’s schtick has always been disappearing pictures and stories; then Instagram adopted its own daylong stories feature. TikTok built its video-based platform off the back of now-defunct Vine (#RIP), and Instagram added video reels. Meanwhile, Threads is essentially Twitter’s (er, X’s) fraternal twin (but may see only 15 minutes of fame); TikTok’s latest text feature is eerily similar to the Threads/X format—and the list goes on. (Don’t even get us started on BeReal). But, hey, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? Here, who’s running the show between the social media titans attempting takeovers of each other. … That is so Meta?
| Platform | OG Intent | Target Audience + Demographics | Added or Upcoming Features |
| Photo sharing | Millennials/Gen Z | Video sharing, reels, shopping, IGTV, live video, 24-hour stories | |
| Twitter (X) | Short message sharing | Business-to-business, now also used to share personal thoughts | Extended character limit, X Blue, an edit feature, Notes (longform tweets), “unmentioning”—and eventually Musk plans for X to be an “everything app” |
| Threads | Short message sharing | To compete with Twitter | Hashtags, messaging, web interface, following tab |
| Share personal info, pics + updates | Originally designed for college students, now used by Boomers | New photo/video features, live video, stories, event sharing, groups, Marketplace | |
| TikTok | Video sharing | Zennials, Gen Z, Alpha | Text posts, TikTok stories, direct messaging |
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