Which platform will prevail: LinkedIn, Bluesky, Instagram Threads or X? An original Schwedin Analysis.
Is X on the brink of collapse, or can the short messaging service reinvent itself? Which other platform has the potential to topple the alpha dog from its throne? Find out in this fourth part of our research into which social media channels were used most frequently by Swiss media professionals in February. And after three months of intensive analysis, we draw some interim conclusions.
Which platform will prevail? LinkedIn, Bluesky, Instagram Threads or X, despite Elon Musk's controversial changes? Our clients have been asking us these burning questions because they want to know: Should we continue to use X? Where can we best reach media professionals? Has our audience already shifted to alternative platforms?
To find out we have spent three months analysing the posts of 38 selected media professionals on all four platforms. These include 25 media professionals from German-speaking Switzerland, 8 from French-speaking Switzerland and 5 from Ticino.
X unchallenged, newcomers have no chance
If we compare the first two months of 2024, there were 140 more posts on X in February than in the previous month, published by 22 of the 25 journalists we are following. In second place is LinkedIn, which was used by a total of 16 media professionals in February, six more than in the previous month. In contrast, there was significantly less activity on Bluesky: we counted 75 fewer posts and the number of users fell by two. Only three people are using threads.
While all media professionals in both regions use X, LinkedIn only seems to be an issue in French-speaking Switzerland, where 5 out of 8 people are active. Nobody uses Bluesky or Threads. A total of 171 posts were published in French-speaking Switzerland, i.e. 7 posts more than in the previous month. In Ticino, there were 381 posts, i.e. 21 posts fewer than in the previous month.
Bluesky and Threads - just an experiment?
Our interim conclusion: X remains the favoured social media platform for Swiss media professionals. In German-speaking Switzerland, Bluesky and Threads have been experimented with, but the numbers are already declining. Bluesky and Threads use in French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino is negligible.
Do any of the X-alternatives still have a chance or is the hype over? Take another look at the five media professionals from article 2 (In search of the Twitter phoenix: The Röstigraben.) who were all critical of X and some called on their followers to follow them on other channels.
Oliver Fuchs from Beobachter remains consistent in his decision to turn his back on X. He used Bluesky exclusively.
Patrizia Laeri, Elexx, left X in November and has been communicating mainly via threads ever since. However, there are fewer and fewer posts over time - in February there were only six posts.
Elia Blülle from the Republic said goodbye to X in mid-December, but relented in January and published posts on the Musk platform again. Blülle is still more active on Bluesky, but posted significantly more on X again in February.
Tech journalist Thomas Benkö has also been actively involved in the discourse on possible X alternatives since the Musk takeover. He writes on his blog: "No matter what you think about Musk, as a journalist you still have to rely on Twitter: Especially when it comes to international topics, you find out a lot of things here first." Benkö posted significantly more on X in February and almost completely dispensed with Bluesky. He only used threads for a few private posts.
Fabian Eberhard, deputy editor-in-chief of SonntagsBlick, also wrote to us in response to our request: "Unfortunately, X is getting worse and worse, the algorithms are increasingly flushing right-wing hate accounts to the surface. Nevertheless, X remains the most pressing platform for me, both in terms of topicality and the presence of opinion leaders. The new players like Bluesky, Mastodon or Threads still can't replace X." Fabian has tried out the new platforms, but only used X in February.
The platform battle
X remains the highlander among short messaging services. The figures also reflect this: With 540 million monthly users, the platform dominates the market. However, there has been a significant decline of 30 per cent in recent months.
Bluesky, introduced in February 2023, initially gained popularity due to its decentralised model and widespread frustration with Elon Musk. Despite a strong start, user growth stalled at 3 million by early in the year. In early February, offering free access to Bluesky reignited its expansion. According to the platform's own reports, it has since attracted an additional 2 million users.
Instagram Threads was launched in July 2023 and reached the 100 million mark in its first five days. With 130 million monthly users today, Threads is still far behind X, and caused a sensation in December in particular - thanks to massive advertising and expansion into Europe.
Conclusion
Threads and Bluesky are expanding globally, yet they're not widely recognized yet. Conversely, X is leveraging existing user habits but faces a drop in activity. In Switzerland, the situation is straightforward: X remains the dominant platform. Among media professionals, the newer platforms have hardly made an impact.
And what about LinkedIn? Many Swiss journalists are active there, but the platform focus is on professional exchange and networking, not on breaking news.
What does this mean for corporate media relations?
X may be tarnished, but for the time being it is the most important platform for companies to reach media professionals. Keep an eye on Bluesky and Threads and, if you haven't already done so, create a profile and save your profile name.
Here's what happens next
We are putting the research on hold for the time being and will take another look at the dynamics of the social media landscape in the second half of 2024. How will X develop in the coming months? Can Bluesky and Threads win the favour of users after all? And what role will LinkedIn play for media professionals?
What's next for Bluesky, Threads, LinkedIn and X? We'll keep you up to date.
In the meantime, read the start of our blog series and the first two parts of our research:
