Quill, a Slack-like messaging platform launched in February, has been acquired by junior Big Tech company Twitter. The massively popular and influential social media company, which just underwent a CEO shakeup in November, will absorb Quill’s entire team into its Experience org, and the interface and technology will be incorporated into Twitter. Also, in quick fashion, Quill will shut down completely in mid-December—less than a year after its release. Customers of the short-lived platform have a limited window to export their data and will need to adopt a new messaging program, such as the Salesforce-owned Slack.
Twitter is trying to generate growth by implementing new features and technologies to increase its ability to compete with dominant social media platforms. Surprisingly, Twitter is only ranked 16th in active monthly users. Quill has been lauded as a more structured and focused alternative messaging platform, and it is yet unknown how its functions and features will be incorporated into the established social media interface. Twitter also recently acquired Threader, a program that makes long threads easier to read in a single, condensed form. The program, which was already popular with long-form “Tweeters,” will also be fully incorporated into Twitter, providing a preview of the company’s long-term growth strategy.