[hresvelgr]

The features I'd want in a twitter competitor are a chronological timeline and potentially a paid subscription option to support people I follow. But the feature I want the most by far is people I care about to use it.

For better or worse, you need a gimmick that people find amusing and delightful, because most people will not want a new Twitter that is objectively less capable, even if slimming down the experience is a net positive. At the end of the day, you still need to offer something new and interesting, and I would be spending my time figuring out what that is.