Twitter is a Mess, So Former Employees Are Creating Spill as an Alternative

Alphonzo Phonz Terrell and DeVaris Brown connected during orientation on their first day working at Twitter. A few years later, they are building a social media platform of their own. "We were the only two Black guys in there, and we were like, Hey, we'll be friends," said Terrell, who served as the platform's Global Head of Social Editorial until last month, when he was one of the thousands of employees laid off upon Elon Musk's takeover.

In this Slogging thread, our community discussed an alternative to Twitter, SPILL, a real-time conversational platform that puts culture first.

This Slogging thread by Valentine Enedah, Sara Pinto, Mónica Freitas and Marco Sullivan occurred in slogging's official #technology channel, and has been edited for readability.

Valentine EnedahDec 21, 2022, 7:22 PM

Twitter Is a Mess, so Former Employees Are Creating Spill as an Alternative
https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/16/spill-twitter-alternative/

Valentine EnedahDec 21, 2022, 8:01 PM

Terrell and Brown announced waitlist signups for Spill. It is a real-time
conversational platform that puts culture first. Most times, black creatives
and technologists working in social media, power new trends on platforms like Twitter and TikTok, only to be overlooked.

Valentine EnedahDec 21, 2022, 8:06 PM

Like Twitter, Spill will have a live news feed where users can post spills. They're called spill after the phrase spill the tea. Spill's website sports a Kermit sipping tea meme which, by the way, was popularized on Black Twitter.
Other Twitter competitors like Hive have run into security issues when building these kinds of products.

Valentine EnedahDec 21, 2022, 8:20 PM

This will likely be the first AI-based large language content moderation model that was created from the ground up by individuals with cultural expertise.
What do you think?

Sara PintoDec 22, 2022, 8:57 AM

I love seeing alternatives to Twitter. We have so many people concentrated in like 4 apps that it's refreshing to see new ones taking advantage of the situation and coming forward with their projects! I personally liked the "tea parties" idea, it feels like it will make the whole experience more dynamic.

Sara PintoDec 22, 2022, 9:02 AM

The concept behind Spill is also incredibly important. People put their heart and soul into their work and end up not receiving any recognition. If they can do anything to help this, it's already a win

Valentine EnedahDec 22, 2022, 1:14 PM

Sara Pinto I agree with you on this!
Would you love to try the app once it is released?
I'm looking forward to this app released.
Also, some apps were already created by ex twitter employees.
Like Hive have run into security issues when building these kinds of products without a robust team.

Mónica FreitasDec 22, 2022, 3:05 PM

UUUUH AWESOME! Love the name!!! I'd like to know how big this will get and if being an early adopter could prove useful for brands. I'm tempted to create an account

Valentine EnedahDec 22, 2022, 10:13 PM

Mónica Freitas You should create an account. It's a great idea for an app.

Sara PintoDec 23, 2022, 5:26 PM

Since I don't even use Twitter, I'm not sure if it's my type of app, but who knows haha. Will you create an account on Spill? Valentine Enedah

Sara PintoDec 23, 2022, 5:26 PM

Is Hive similar to Spill and Twitter?

Marco SullivanDec 23, 2022, 5:38 PM

Valentine Enedah I actually liked the idea behind Spill. Considering the fact that the founders have so much experience after winning several awards at Twitter.
I really hope they succeed.

Valentine EnedahDec 25, 2022, 2:36 PM

Sara Pinto Yes, I would really love to try Spill and if it has a great prospect of being a competitor to Twitter.

Valentine EnedahDec 25, 2022, 2:40 PM

Sara Pinto Yes, Hive is similar to Spill and Twitter. It is also called Hive Social.
You can check it out here: https://www.hivesocial.app/

Sara PintoDec 26, 2022, 2:03 PM

What about Hive? Have you tried it? Valentine Enedah

Mónica FreitasDec 27, 2022, 10:14 AM

Do we know how many users it has already? Valentine Enedah

Valentine EnedahDec 27, 2022, 2:37 PM

Sara Pinto No, I haven't tried it but I have the app on my mobile. It is currently experiencing severe crashing issues. This makes it impossible for users to set usernames, add profile pictures and use the platform in general.

Valentine EnedahDec 27, 2022, 2:39 PM

Mónica Freitas Yes, it already has 700k+ users on the platform.

Mónica FreitasDec 29, 2022, 11:06 AM

Damn! That's a substantial number. There are so many new social platforms since the Twitter acquisition. I wonder which will make it big

Valentine EnedahDec 29, 2022, 11:17 AM

Mónica Freitas Yeah! So many Elon Enemies as well.😂
Looking forward to SPILL.