Why Threads Could Be the Next Big Social Media Platform
Social media giant Meta has launched its latest app, Threads, which is being touted as a direct competitor to struggling social media platform Twitter. With over 10 million sign-ups already, Threads is poised to challenge Twitter’s dominance in the market and provide users with a “friendly” alternative. In this article, we will explore the features of Threads, its connection to Instagram, and how it poses a threat to Twitter’s future.
Introducing Threads: The “Text-Based Conversation App”
Threads is a new app developed by Meta that allows users to engage in text-based conversations. Users can post messages up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos. Similar to Twitter, posts on Threads can be replied to, liked, or shared with others. Since its launch, Threads has garnered significant attention, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg even using the app himself to boast about its user numbers.
Integration with Instagram: Instant Network Building
One of the standout features of Threads is its direct connection to Instagram. With over 2 billion users, Instagram is a popular photo-sharing platform, and Threads allows users to transfer their existing usernames and followers from Instagram to instantly build their network. This eliminates the “cold start” problem often faced by new social platforms and helps bring Threads to life right from the start.
A Threat to Twitter’s Future
The launch of Threads has been dubbed the “Twitter killer” by some users, and it poses a direct threat to Twitter’s struggling platform. Since Twitter was acquired by Elon Musk for $44 billion, it has faced numerous challenges and frustrations, leading to a decline in user satisfaction and advertiser support. Meanwhile, Meta has been tightening its policies and investing in moderation to address concerns on its platforms.
A Healthier Alternative to Twitter’s Moderation Approach
While Twitter has faced criticism for its moderation approach under Elon Musk’s ownership, Threads aims to provide a healthier alternative. In a post, Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the importance of keeping Threads friendly as it expands, which he believes is a key factor in its potential success. He also mentioned that this has been a weak point for Twitter and that Meta wants to do things differently.
Expanding Interoperability: ActivityPub and Beyond
Meta has plans to make Threads compatible with ActivityPub, an open social networking protocol established by the World Wide Web Consortium. This compatibility means that in the future, users will be able to push their following and content from Threads to other ActivityPub protocol-based apps, such as Mastodon and WordPress. This move is aimed at creating interoperability and allowing users to find their community across various platforms.
Conclusion: Threads – A Potential Game-Changer in the Social Media Landscape
Threads, the latest app from Meta, has the potential to be a game-changer in the social media landscape. With its text-based conversation format, integration with Instagram, and emphasis on friendliness and moderation, Threads offers a compelling alternative to Twitter. As more users sign up and Meta continues to invest in its growth, the rivalry between Meta and Twitter could intensify, bringing even more innovation and competition to the world of social media.
Summary:
Threads, the new app developed by Meta, is being hailed as a potential competitor to struggling social media platform Twitter. With its text-based conversation format and integration with Instagram, Threads offers a friendlier alternative and has already garnered over 10 million sign-ups. As Meta aims to make Threads compatible with other platforms through ActivityPub, the app could become a key player in the social media landscape. The launch of Threads poses a direct threat to Twitter’s future and could lead to increased competition and innovation in the industry.
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Meta said more than 10 million people have signed up to its long-awaited competitor Twitter in what CEO Mark Zuckerberg has touted as a “friendly” alternative to the struggling social media platform owned by Elon Musk.
The app, called Threads, is a “text-based conversation app” where users can post up to 500 characters long and include links, photos and videos. As with Chirpingposts can be replied to, liked or shared with others.
Within hours of its launch Wednesday, Zuckerberg used the new app to brag about its user numbers. “Let’s do it. Welcome to Threads,” he wrote earlier in his first post.
Threads is directly connected to Instagram, HalfThe popular photo sharing platform with over 2 billion users and launches in more than 100 countries for iOS and Android. Users currently cannot join Threads without an Instagram account.
The launch of the app, dubbed the “Twitter killer” by some users, poses a direct threat to Musk’s platform. Since Twitter was bought by the billionaire for 44 billion dollars in October, it went from one crisis to another, frustrating users and large advertisers as it teetered on the edge of bankruptcy.
In a post Wednesday, Zuckerberg singled out Threads as a healthier replacement for Twitter.
“The goal is to keep it friendly as it expands. I think it’s possible and will ultimately be the key to its success,” Zuckerberg wrote. “This is one of the reasons Twitter has never been as successful as I think it should have been, and we want to do it differently.”
Meta has long grappled with concerns from academics and activists that it doesn’t police its Instagram and Facebook platforms enough, but over time it has tightened its policies and invested in more moderation.
The launch comes as Musk, by contrast, eased Twitter’s moderation approach, prompting dozens of advertisers to flee and slashing his $5 billion annual revenue by 50%.
Some Twitter users have been looking for alternatives to the platform to Musk’s moderation stance and the introduction of an $8-a-month premium service with some features that were previously free.
Over the weekend, Musk frustrated some Twitter users when he introduced temporary limits on the number of posts users could view. He said it was an attempt to “address the extreme levels of data scraping [and] system manipulation”.
So far, however, nascent challengers — like Donald Trump’s Truth Social, Jack Dorsey’s Bluesky, and Mastodon — have failed to get communities large enough to spill over into the mainstream.
Meta is known for cloning capabilities offered by rival platforms in its quest for growth, particularly when it created ‘Instagram Stories’, a copy of the endangered vertical video clips first popularized by smaller competitor Snap. Meta recently created a short-form video format, similar to TikTok owned by ByteDance, called Reels.
But the particular benefit of Threads is its connection to Instagram, which allows users to transfer their existing usernames and followers from the photo app, allowing them to have an instant network.
Some users said this helped bring the site to life as soon as they signed up, avoiding the “cold start” problem for new social platforms.
Unlike early Twitter, which displayed all tweets in chronological order, Threads launched with an algorithmic timeline, prioritizing posts with the most engagement and occasionally showing those from people a user doesn’t already follow.
Threads appears to have little to no paid ads at launch, although several brands have switched to the new platform.
Meta isn’t initially launching the app in the EU, its second-largest market by revenue, due to uncertainty over new regulations in the bloc.
The move heightens the rivalry between two of Silicon Valley’s top billionaires. Last month, Musk wrote on his platform that he was “ready for a cage match” with Zuckerberg, who recently rebranded himself as a ju-jitsu aficionado. Zuckerberg seemed to accept the challenge. It is unclear if and when the contest will take place.
In a statement on Wednesday, Meta said it has plans for Threads to be compatible with ActivityPub, an open social networking protocol established by the World Wide Web Consortium. This would mean that in the future, users would be able to push the following and the content they have on Threads to other ActivityPub protocol-based apps, including Mastodon and WordPress.
“Threads is Meta’s first app designed to be compatible with an open social networking protocol – we hope that by joining this rapidly growing ecosystem of interoperable services, Threads will help people find their community, no matter which app they use” Meta said.
Additional reporting by Tim Bradshaw and Cristina Criddle in London
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