Millions of people eagerly awaited the launch of Trump’s social media platform. After being banned from major networks last year, the 45th president vowed to create a “big tent” that would never censor or silence users’ free speech. His solution, TRUTH Social, was a (for now) iOS-only app that was released on President’s Day this year.
But few supporters were able to join the network, as huge demand crashed the network on launch day. Users trying to sign up were greeted with constant errors. And those who did join were told they were on a waiting list. The waiting list times have not been updated, despite the passage of weeks. It seems the only people able to join the social network are conservative icons, though most of their fan bases are MIA.
Despite this, the CEO of Trump’s new endeavor claims the network is a rousing success.
CEO of Trump Media and Technology Group, former Congressman Devin Nunes, said he plans on having Truth Social fully launched by the end of this month, and engagement on the platform is already extremely high.
People coming from other platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have higher rates of interaction “compared to these big tech tyrants,” Nunes told “Just the News – Not Noise” show Monday evening with Editor-in-Chief John Solomon and co-host Amanda Head…
“People are coming in droves. They continue to sign up. We continue to let them on as quickly as we possibly can,” he said…
“Our team is working around the clock, they continue to work around the clock, we continue to let more and more people on every single hour,” he said. [Source: Just the News]
The social media app claimed that over a billion users viewed the app on Apple’s store. But only a fraction of those who downloaded the app were able to join. Nunes claims they are “working around the clock” to get the network working. But they will have to race against the clock, if they want to survive.
In an already-crowded landscape, it is nearly impossible for a new social network to gain traction. Unless it can offer something truly unique—and prove it can appeal to people from all backgrounds—it will only become a niche community at best. Numerous “free speech” social networks have cropped up in recent years, but have only become bastions for conservatives spouting political talking points.
Right now, it only seems people eager to leave Facebook and other social giants are willing to put up with TRUTH’s waitlist. If the social network wants to become a major player, it will have to branch out and win over users who want a much-needed break from politics. That means, reaching people other than conservatives who have an ax to grind.
But if they can’t even scale to meet the current demand, can they actually pull that off?
Author: Moe Blow