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Post News, the microblogging platform that emerged in the wake of Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition, has announced its closure after a year and a half in operation.
Founded by former Waze CEO Noam Bardin, Post News launched with an ambitious vision: to create a platform specifically catered to journalists and their audiences.
The platform debuted in beta in late 2022 and boasted backing from venture capital giants Andreessen Horowitz and tech commentator Scott Galloway.
However, in a message posted on Friday, Bardin acknowledged the platform's failure to attract a significant user base: "At the end of the day, our service is not growing fast enough to become a real business or a significant platform," he wrote.
"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."
Post News aimed to capitalize on user dissatisfaction with Elon Musk's ownership of Twitter.
The platform offered a unique monetization model, allowing users to purchase individual articles from partnered publications instead of subscribing to them entirely.
Bardin expressed his belief that Post News "validated many theories around micropayments and consumers' willingness to purchase individual articles" despite its closure.
While Post News experimented with innovative monetization approaches, it couldn't compete with the shifting landscape of digital media. Independent and worker-owned publications are increasingly finding success on platforms like Substack, Beehiiv, and Ghost.
Post News is not the only casualty in the recent wave of social media alternatives. Pebble, another Twitter competitor known as T2, shut down operations in October 2023.
These closures underscore the fierce competition and challenges inherent in the social media industry. Even attracting a temporary influx of users doesn't guarantee long-term success.
