Threads - Meta's newest social networking app, launched a day earlier than expected, providing billions of users with an alternative to Twitter. "Let's do this. Welcome to Threads," Mark Zuckerberg has just posted on his Facebook and Instagram accounts.
What is Threads?
Amid growing frustration with the Elon Musk-owned social media service Twitter, the Threads app has been officially launched by Meta on the Apple and Google mobile app stores. Threads appears to have many similarities to Twitter, allowing users to post status updates as text content, reply to other users, and like or retweet messages. The service also allows Meta-owned Instagram users to follow the same account on Threads, which in turn can help people add followers.
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Meta says its vision is to take the best parts of Instagram and create new experiences for text, ideas, and discussion of what users are thinking. In the days leading up to the official announcement, many social media users called Threads the product that would bring down Twitter, expecting users of the rival platform to support the new app.
Many Twitter users have expressed frustration with recent changes initiated by Elon Musk, most recently, the billionaire adjusted the number of tweets that non-paid users can see each day.
According to Reuters news agency, Threads was launched at the right time when the two "rivals" Zuckerberg and Musk had been ready to get for a cage fight with each other in the past few months, even preparing for a real "fight" in Las Vegas.
This is also the time when Meta "hits" when Twitter is in chaos because of Elon Musk's decisions. The world's richest billionaire bought Twitter for $44 billion at the end of October 2022, but the company's value has plummeted since then as it faces a wave of advertisers leaving amid staff cuts. the depth and controversy of content moderation.
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Twitter has also seen a spike in hate speech since Elon Musk bought the platform last year. Additionally, according to GLAAD's scorecard on June 15, Twitter is "the most dangerous platform for LGBTQ people."
According to technology research firm Forrester, Meta is targeting a time when Twitter frustration is at a very high level. Threads, billed as an Instagram app, is another imitator move from Meta, which has a history of introducing services that mimic other standalone tools. It can be noted that the messaging application Slingshot or IGTV, the video service from Instagram.
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Meta sees Threads as a place where users can follow and connect directly with their favorite creators. In other words, Threads is like Twitter but with more focus on Instagram creators and celebrities.
2 million signups and even much more!
In just 2 hours of being released, Threads had two million signups and shows no signs of slowing down. Meta's new social networking app connects to Instagram accounts, a photo-sharing network with over 2 billion users. Threads allows users to post lines of text content up to 500 characters, links to websites, photos and videos up to five minutes in length, said VP of product Connor Hayes.
Accounts with a green tick on Instagram will also be recognized on Threads. For now, Threads will be ad-free, with the goal of getting as many users as possible.
Threads is available on iOS and Android in 100 countries excluding the European Union (EU). The biggest reason is that Threads' privacy policies are not currently in line with EU standards. Specifically, the policy of the new social network on iOS includes the collection of users' private and sensitive data such as health and financial data, exact location, and browsing history,... This begs the question, can Threads launch in the European Union?
Brands like Billboard, HBO, and Variety set up accounts within minutes of Threads' launch, along with celebrities like Shakira and Sheryl Sandberg (former Meta Platforms Operations Manager). The Threads app currently doesn't appear to be showing any ads, according to Reuters.
To build Threads, Meta Platforms reached out to social media influencers to invite them to the app and encourage them to post at least two posts a day, according to Ryan Detert, CEO of marketing firm Influential influencers.
Zuckerberg posted on Threads: "I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it. Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn't nailed it. Hopefully we will," According to analyst Jasmine Enberg at market research firm Insider Intelligence, Meta only needs to convince a quarter of Instagram users to join for Threads to compete with Twitter's scale.