Brazil Labs: Cohost – A twitter replacement or pretender?

Brazil Labs evaluates new technologies for communications purposes. This month we look at Cohost, an ad-free social media platform which has been in beta launch in February 2022, and is currently accessible to select users.?Brazil Labs got in there early to examine its potential.

Twitter has been on the decrease for some years now, and Elon Musk’s takeover has just accelerated it.?It became an essential communications tool quickly (Brazil had an account since early 2008) because it was unique, easy to use & quick.

With the potential demise of Twitter, people are looking for alternatives and already flocking to the likes of Mastodon, which said it had added over 1m new members since Musk’s acquisition.

Cohost is another option, still in beta and only available via a web browser so far, but its early days and the actual launch product should be much different.

Posts have no character limits and are organised just like Twitter, using a vertical timeline. However, instead of content being presented using an algorithm (which got a lot of criticism from early Twitter adopters), posts are always listed in chronological the order – so much more organic and controllable.??

What makes Cohost different are three features:?

1. Allowing for different themes?
2. Enabling multiple pages for longer posts.??
3. Allowing collaboratively co-owned pages which multiple people can access and edit. This means you can create and share post collaboratively with friends, family or colleagues.

In terms of functionality, we think this could be more powerful in a business or educational environment.

The user experience is a little old school, with a look and feel like a basic blog site of old– so it’s dated not vintage and out of sync with current consumer expectations for the user experience.?

Cohost is free, but has a premium subscription option called Cohost Plus which costs $50 per year.

The big question is, will Cohost Replace Twitter? It works, looks ok, and is possibly easier to join and post than Mastodon.?But social media success depends on much more than this and ultimately it’s the users and community that makes or breaks a network.??

Without a mobile app, Brazil Labs thinks Cohost won’t stand a chance become mainstream and global.?However with its collaborative features, it may be strive in supporting niche groups and business communications.??

Brazil Labs verdict:

Usability: 3/10 Main point: no mobile app

Accessibility: 5/10 Main point: Far more technical than Twitter

Coolness: 3/10 Main point: Look & feel far too old school

Overall use for comms: 3/10 Main point: Keep it B2B