Here’s My ‘Tooter’ Experience In 12 Honest Thoughts

India’s answer to Twitter is a new ‘swadeshi’ version called ‘Tooter’ but why?

(GIF Courtesy: The Quint/Erum Gour)

You've heard of Fau-G, desi version of PUB-G (and laughed)..

You've heard of TakaTak, desi version of TikTok (and laughed)..

Now it's time for Tooter! Which is, quite evidently, a desi version of Twitter.

Tooter, where you 'toot' about stuff, has been around since July 2020. However, it has suddenly seems to have become a topic of conversation now for being a total rip-off of Twitter. I don't know why we're still surprised. While the memes were hilarious, I decided to check out the new kid on the block for myself and here goes..

1. Okay, Firstly, Who Named This App?

'Tooter' sounds like a parody of Twitter and no one in their right mind, I imagine, could take this app seriously.

(BTW, I used the browser version, not the app. More on that later.)

2. Tooter And I Have One Thing In Common

And its our mutual disdain for people who use email services other than Gmail. Turns out, Tooter is a little more generous.. it allows people to register with either a Gmail address or a Yahoo one. But nothing else.

3. "It's Not Just an App, It's a Revolution"

If Tooter had a TV ad, that's what the slogan would be. I mean, look at the home page!

They're calling it 'Swadeshi Andolan 2.0.' Comparing an app to 20th century movement for freedom..

(Photo: Tooter)

Also don't miss out on that beautiful blue conch shell logo which to me, at first glance, looked like a tilted blue mango with a hat on. But that's probably just me!

4. Reading Tooter's Description Made Me Go..

The sun never sets in the British Twitter empire. Ya. Something like that.

In the 'About' section of Tooter, they compare the 'American Twitter India Company' (commonly known as Twitter India) to the British East India Company...

That's it. I've had it with this site.

5. Tooter Got Me Feeling Good About Being an Android User

..because the app isn't available for iPhones. Ha. Who's the loser now?

6. Tooter = Twitter + Facebook

Yep, as a part of Swadeshi Andolan 2.0, we're going after not just Jack Dorsey (Twitter CEO) but also Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook CEO). The homepage is very similar to Twitter but if you go to your own profile, it's suddenly very...Facebook!

*Alexa, play Best of Both Worlds by Hannah Montana*

(Photo: Tooter)

7. Meet Nanda, The CEO of Tooter

Nanda did not need to be featured on a Forbes list because the second you create a Tooter account, you're automatically following 3 people. One of them is Nanda, the CEO of Tooter.

I also automatically followed a certain @news account and some random account called @rvaidya2000, who interestingly I found on Twitter also with the same handle!

Fun Fact: The CEO of Tooter is not verified but others on the list are. We love a humble man.

Tooter automatically made me follow 3 people.(Photo: Tooter)

8. I Know Why Nanda Isn't Verified on His Own Website

It's because he shitposts on his profile. Just like me. Tooter allows you to 'repost' others' posts. It's a lot like Twitter's retweeting feature and Facebook's share feature.

I briefly scrolled through Nanda's Tooter page and the man reposts everything. From memes making fun of Jack Dorsey to random WhatsApp University type content.

(Photo: Tooter)

(Photo: Tooter)

9. Next Step: Look For My Boo Virat

Obviously, I started looking for celebrities on Tooter and was quite surprised to find so many! PM Narendra Modi, Akshay Kuma, Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma.. It seems everyone influential got a memo to join Tooter ASAP and start sharing. This suspicion was confirmed when I came across Virat Kohli's profile. And guess what, it seems Virat didn't read the memo properly because he just copy-pasted his TWITTER bio as his TOOTER bio.

Nanda will not be happy about this.

(Photo: Tooter)

10. Why Aren't The Celebs Following Each Other?

Even though Amitabh Bachchan, Virat Kohli, Shah Rukh Khan seem to be updating their Tooter accounts surprisingly regularly, none of these celebs are actually following each other. What's more interesting is that they are all only following one person - NANDA.

I have to mandatorily follow 3 accounts, but celebs can get away with just one? THIS IS PRIVILEGE.

11. If You Enjoyed Your Tooter Experience..

Don't forget to check out the 'TooterPro' option. Which seems like a paid version of Tooter. Except, when you click on the option, it leads to nothing.

(Photo: Tooter)

Clearly, Tooter still needs *a lot* of work before it can beat Jack Dorsey. Until then, we're just going to stick to Twitter, okay?

12. I Didn't Have The Courage To Check Out The Google Play Store App

Especially not after the terrible reviews complaining about how the app is just a rip off of Twitter and throws up plenty of errors. Sorry, but..

(Photo: Twitter)