I signed up for Truth Social – Donald Trump’s alternative to Twitter – on February 22, the day after it officially launched.
Demand was so high – allegedly – that I was put on a waiting list. I was #401,477 in line to join.
More than a month later – it’s been 41 days, but who’s counting – I am still not a member of the Truth Social community.
Which, well, what? Especially when you consider that Devin Nunes, the former member of Congress who resigned from office to run Truth Social’s parent company, said that the platform would be “fully operational” by the end of March. Which [checks calendar] has already passed.
Heck, it’s been more than a month since Trump’s first tweet “truth” from the platform. “Get Ready! Your favorite President will see you soon,” he posted in mid-February. I’m ready!
And that’s only the start of the problems buffeting Truth Social these days.
On Monday, Reuters reported that the heads of technology and product development for the company had resigned.
CNN also reported that according to data from the market research firm SensorTower, Truth Social has fallen to 35th place among social networking apps. I didn’t even know there were that many social networking apps!
And it’s unclear how the company behind Truth Social – Trump Media & Technology Group – is funding its growth given that Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating its plan to go public via a special purpose acquisition company and no funds raised can be released until that investigation ends.
None of this should surprise you. As I wrote last fall when Truth Social was announced: “This is a uniquely terrible idea that will, almost certainly, fail.”
The reasons were – and are – obvious: Twitter already exists, there are already a slew of (underperforming) conservative social media sites and Trump isn’t president anymore.
That Trump didn’t see that – and that no one told him the obvious flaws in his plan – should surprise no one who watched how he handled his business over the four years he was in the White House.
The Point: Truth Social, at some point, may get off the ground. But man, has this been a rocky beginning – and an ill omen for its chances in the marketplace.
