Threads. Mastodon. Blue sky. Substack notes. Position. Nostr. Weak. There’s been no shortage of X competitors in the months since Elon Musk acquired the text-based social network formerly known as Twitter. Now you can add one more launch to this series: Lyraca new X rival that aims to differentiate itself by focusing on real-time news and monetization options for creators, similar to X, but with different integrations, similar to Instagram’s Threads.
fediverse refers to the open source social network of interconnected servers powered by the ActivityPub social networking protocol. Mastodon is the most well-known of the federated social networking apps, but even Meta has sensed a change in the direction of the web and created its latest social network, Threads, with an eye on ActivityPub integrations.
With Lyracthe plan is to take the best of what Twitter has to offer and combine it with the ActiviyPub integration, allowing users to interact with a wider audience on other federated social networks like Mastodon and others.
This integration isn’t live yet, but the team says it will begin work in a few months. Once live, Lyrak users will be able to see posts from Mastodon users and vice versa.
Image Credits: Lyrac
Founded by London-based web designer and marketer Rishi Siva, Lyrak is named after the lead character in the TV show ‘His Dark Materials’, Lyra. Siva says that Lyra is discovering new worlds, and since Lyrak is also trying to build something better, it seemed like a good source of inspiration.
The founder came up with the idea after spending time helping small businesses build websites so they could make money on the web and attract customers. At one point, Siva also created a Thumbtack-like app, but the COVID-19 pandemic affected its ability to grow as many local merchants were unable to work at the time.
However, it expresses a desire to help users make better use of their online content and skills.
“Our lower fees and ad revenue sharing with creators further supports this goal,” notes Siva.
In comparison, X does not publicly share its percentage, which can vary based on post type, demographics, geography and other factors. In addition, revenue is earned only for advertisements shown to verified users (paid subscribers).
Siva is also unhappy with the direction X is going and how it is affecting the creators.
“After Musk took over Twitter, I saw a significant change in the way the platform behaved and the types of accounts it promoted. It’s disappointing to see that all the tech leaders I admire have ignored this and are still using Twitter [X],” he noted, pointing to issues surrounding far-right groups and anti-Semitic content on X’s platform.
But he admits Twitter/X remains the best place for real-time news, which is why it’s stuck with users despite the changes. Threads, meanwhile, doesn’t prioritize real-time news outside of sports. Siva dubs it “basically a text version of Instagram.”
He believes Mastodon and Bluesky will ultimately be too complex for regular users, but Lyrak could benefit from their networks through different integrations. (Technically, Bluesky is not federated with Mastodon because it uses a different protocol, but work is being done to bridge the two.)
Image Credits: Lyrac
Lyrak says it will initially focus on getting journalists to join the network, to help it become a real-time social networking app. To attract them, Lyrak will allow verified journalists to share content on users’ homepage feeds based on their interests and offer tools to send them notifications to people who regularly click on their links. (The latter is similar to Artifact — RIP — which would alert users to new articles from journalists and writers they followed.)
The startup will also look to appeal to people who sell digital products, with specific tools rolling out for that crowd later in May. Creators will be able to offer subscriptions to their followers as well as collect tips.
Another upcoming feature will include AI tools such as an answer engine and user-generated AI characters, also planned for May.
The company plans to monetize through ads, like X, but also with a 10% cut from paid posts, subscriptions, tips, digital products and other AI capabilities, in time.
To route app store fees, Lyrak’s website will allow users to deposit money into the app, which they can use to pay creators. (However, funds added through in-app purchases will require payment of Apple’s 30% commission.)
Another idea, borrowed from sites like Reddit, is a reputation score that would reflect the value a user brings to the community through comments, reposts, likes, and inviting others to the platform. This will be combined with AI oversight efforts and human moderators to keep the app safe, the team promises.
Image Credits: Lyrac
“After our initial release and a few weeks of bug fixes, we plan to release new features regularly,” said Siva. “The advantage of being a startup building a social app is that we have a fresh perspective on things. We’re not stuck in old ways of thinking, which allows us to innovate and create features that really benefit our users.”
Lyrak is made by a team of five people, most of whom are based in London. (The fifth person will soon be moving to London, too.) The startup is currently bootstrapped and available for download on iOS.
