By now, any Google social product is DOA. After Wave/Plus/etc, a new site won't gain significant early adopter attention. They're better off buying an existing thing or spinning up their own improved AP/Masto service, taking a page from the gmail playbook.
Probably not. Twitter is wonderful as a public service/utility, but it is unclear if it will ever be profitable.
I thought Twitter could never die, but if acts like this continue, Twitter's users will slip through Elon's fingers.
Subreply is an alternative, but it is demodded on HN every time it reaches front page.
Google and Meta at least would be crazy if they weren't doing something quietly on the side. Are publicly traded companies allowed to work on a skunkworks-type project available to the public without revealing that officially?
Yes, including Lockheed Martin, who has the original Skunk Works.
I'd wondered if they could do that because of the nature of their industry, or it remaining on the R&D side rather than a publicly marketing project until it was proven.