Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta has entered the fray against Twitter with its Threads app, attracting an astounding 10 million sign-ups within seven hours. The launch aimed to capitalize on Twitter’s weakened state due to Elon Musk’s tumultuous decisions as its owner.
Well-known figures such as Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez swiftly joined the Meta platform. With ties to Instagram, analysts anticipate Threads could leverage its existing user base and advertising capabilities, potentially diverting ad revenue from Twitter, which is striving to revive its struggling business under new leadership.
While Threads operates as a standalone app, users can log in using their Instagram credentials and follow the same accounts, offering a seamless transition for Instagram’s massive user base of over 2 billion monthly active users.
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, expressed excitement among investors regarding the potential for Meta to become a “Twitter-Killer.” Others view the launch of Threads as an opportunity to foster a more positive and less toxic alternative to Twitter.
Similar to Twitter, Threads allows users to post short text messages, like, repost, and reply, but lacks direct messaging functionality. According to a Meta blog post, posts can be up to 500 characters long and support links, photos, and videos of up to five minutes.
The app is available in over 100 countries via Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store. Meta stock experienced a 3% increase ahead of the launch, surpassing gains made by competing tech companies.
The arrival of Threads follows an ongoing exchange of jabs between Zuckerberg and Musk, including threats of a real-life mixed martial arts fight in Las Vegas. Meta’s offensive against Twitter occurs at a time when the latter is undoubtedly on the defensive.
After Musk’s $44 billion acquisition in October, Twitter’s value plummeted due to severe layoffs and controversies surrounding content moderation, alienating both users and advertisers. Zuckerberg acknowledged the challenges of managing large public social media platforms and expressed hope that Threads could succeed in creating a widely adopted public conversations app.
Meta’s integration with Instagram incorporates privacy considerations, granting users the option to hide their Threads affiliation badge and adjust privacy settings for each app individually. Reuters reported that the app did not display any ads upon its review.
Meta has actively courted social media influencers to bolster Threads, encouraging them to post at least twice daily. Other attempts by potential Twitter competitors, including Mastodon, Post, Truth Social, and T2, have remained relatively small compared to the dominant platforms. Meta has faced setbacks with previous copycat apps, like Lasso, designed to rival TikTok.
Responding to a user’s prediction of Twitter’s demise shortly after the Threads launch, Zuckerberg cautioned against premature judgments, suggesting that the battle between Meta and Twitter has only just begun.
“We’re only in the opening moments of the first round here,” he said.
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[…] response to the growing rivalry with Meta Platforms, previously known as Facebook. Meta Platforms’ launch of Threads, a direct competitor to Twitter’s microblogging concept, posed a significant […]