Post News was a microblogging site that launched in beta in November 2022 as an alternative to Twitter.14 The platform shut down in April 2024 because it was not growing fast enough to become a real business or significant platform.1245 Post News was backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Scott Galloway, but the amount raised was never disclosed.15
Timeline
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-11 | Post News launched in a closed beta. | 4 |
| 2023 | Post News lifted its waitlist and founder Noam Bardin said around 430,000 people signed up. | 4 |
| 2023 | Post News rolled out a mobile app. | 4 |
| 2023 | Post News launched a real-time notification system. | 4 |
| 2024-04-19 | Founder Noam Bardin announced that Post News would shut down within the next few weeks. | 1245 |
| 2024-04-19 | Post News said users could download their posts starting the next week and withdraw cash balances until May 31st. | 4 |
Money raised
Post News was backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Scott Galloway, but the platform never disclosed how much it raised.1 Post News raised money from Andreessen Horowitz and Scott Galloway, but was unable to create a sustainable business model.5
Investors named in the sources: Andreessen Horowitz145, Scott Galloway15.
What happened
Post News was a microblogging site that emerged in the days after Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition.1 Post News launched in a closed beta in November 2022.4 Post News was backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Scott Galloway, an NYU professor and tech commentator.1 Silicon Valley journalist Kara Swisher was an adviser to the company.1 Instead of subscribing to various different publications, Post users could purchase individual articles from certain partner outlets.1
The platform also allowed users to tip writers for their work.1 Post News offered users ad-free access to paywalled content from publishers such as Fortune, Business Insider, Wired, The Boston Globe, and others.4 Users had to pay a few cents per article instead of signing up for a subscription to each publication.4 After lifting its waitlist in early 2023, founder Noam Bardin told TechCrunch that around 430,000 people signed up.4 The platform eventually rolled out a mobile app and later launched a real-time notification system, with plans for more features in the future.4
Post News was a web-based would-be Twitter successor that had forged close relationships with a handful of newspapers.2 Post News never got much traction, and part of that might have been due to the lack of a mobile app.2 John Gruber said Post shot itself in the foot right out of the gate going web-only.2 Gruber said the app was just a thin wrapper around their website, so thin that you can drag-and-drop the tab controller buttons and see exactly which PWA framework they used from the custom URLs shown in the drag proxy.2 Gruber said people don’t want to use PWAs; they want real apps.2
Gruber said native iOS apps are so important to social networking that Threads launched app-only for its first two months before launching its web version.2 Founder Noam Bardin said the service was not growing fast enough to become a real business or a significant platform.1245 Bardin said a consumer business, at its core, needs to show rapid consumer adoption and they had not managed to find the right product combination to make it happen.1245 Bardin said Post validated many theories around micropayments and consumers’ willingness to purchase individual articles.15 Bardin said they built a toxicity-free community, a platform where Publishers engage, and an app that validated many theories around Micropayments and consumers' willingness to purchase individual articles.45
Bardin said they even managed to cultivate a phenomenal tipping ecosystem for creators and commenters.5 Om Malik said it lacked dynamism and excitement, even as an early adopter and a former media professional.2 Malik said given the overwhelming emphasis they put on establishment media, he was not surprised.2 Malik said they tried to build a new social network built on the idea of preserving the traditional media.2 Chris Sutcliffe of Media Voices said he either never knew or had forgotten about Post News.2
Sutcliffe said if someone who helps run a podcast and newsletter about the future of media has forgotten about your news-supporting social startup, you’re well and truly stuffed.2 If they weren’t pimping the product, the growth mountain was always going to be a tough ascent.2 Founder Noam Bardin announced the shutdown on April 19, 2024.14 Bardin said it is with a heavy heart that he shares this sad news, and despite how much they’ve accomplished together, they will be shutting down Post News within the next few weeks.25 Post News said users could download their posts on the platform starting the next week.4
Users could also withdraw the cash balance used for article payments and creator tips until May 31st.4 Post News was not the only Twitter alternative that struggled to find an audience, as another potential rival, Pebble, shut down in November 2023.4 Pebble, also known as T2, shut down in October.1 Post managed to hang in there for more than a year after launch, but it’s not the only new microblogging site that’s folded.1 As we knew all along, social media is a tough business — and even if users flock to your site for a fleeting moment, that doesn’t mean they’ll stick around.1
Where the founders are now
Noam Bardin was the founder of Post News and previously CEO of Waze.145 Bardin announced the shutdown of Post News in a post on the platform.15
Lessons, as others put them
"At the end of the day, our service is not growing fast enough to become a real business or a significant platform."Noam Bardin1245
"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."Noam Bardin1245
"We built a toxicity-free community, a platform where Publishers engage, and an app that validated many theories around Micropayments and consumers' willingness to purchase individual articles."Noam Bardin45
"We even managed to cultivate a phenomenal tipping ecosystem for creators and commenters."Noam Bardin5
"It is with a heavy heart that I share this sad news with you. Despite how much we’ve accomplished together, we will be shutting down Post News within the next few weeks."Noam Bardin25
"But I think Post shot itself in the foot right out of the gate going web-only."John Gruber2
"They eventually got around to putting an “app” in the App Store but it’s just a thin wrapper around their website — so thin that you can drag-and-drop the tab controller buttons and see exactly which PWA framework they used from the custom URLs shown in the drag proxy."John Gruber2
"People don’t want to use PWAs; they want real apps."John Gruber2
"Native iOS apps are so important to social networking that Threads launched app-only for its first two months before launching its web version."John Gruber2
"It is not surprising. It lacked dynamism and excitement, even as an early adopter and a former media professional. Given the overwhelming emphasis they put on establishment media, I am not surprised."Om Malik2
"In other words, they tried to build a new social network built on the idea of preserving the traditional media."Om Malik2
"I either never knew or have forgotten about Post News. In the wake of Twitter’s demise (RIP) a number of platforms emerged that sought to capture the bird site’s audience, but with a number of tweaks."Chris Sutcliffe2
"If someone who helps run a podcast and newsletter about the future of media has forgotten about your news-supporting social startup, you’re well and truly stuffed."Chris Sutcliffe2
"As we knew all along, social media is a tough business — and even if users flock to your site for a fleeting moment, that doesn’t mean they’ll stick around."TechCrunch1
Sources
- Post News, the a16z-funded Twitter alternative, is shutting down | TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 2024-04-19
- The last post for Post News, One Man & His Blog, 2024-04-22
- Twitter alternative Post News is shutting down, The Verge, 2024-04-19
- Former Waze CEO announces closure of his Twitter alternative Post News | CTech, ctech, 2024-04-20
How this case file was put together
Every statement on this page carries a numbered note, and every note points to a court record, a regulatory filing or a named publication in the list of sources. Each statement was checked against the text of the sources it cites before it was published: a figure, a date or a name the cited source does not contain was cut rather than kept. Allegations are shown as allegations, with their status at the time of the source (filed, charged, convicted, pleaded, settled, dismissed or pending). Quoted lessons are the words of the person or publication named with them, copied from the cited source; nothing here is our own opinion of why the company failed.
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