Amassing 30 million users within the morning of the day launched! Threads from Meta is surely off to a strong start. The Threads app, which is currently the talk of the town, and named “Twiter Killer” by many, is the latest addition from Meta for Instagram users.
Yes, to install and use Threads, one has to have an Instagram account. If you have an account on the photo and video sharing app, using Threads is straightforward. Just download the app from Google’s Play Store or Apple’s App Store, and you can start using it with a few taps.
So, why is it being called a rival to Twitter? And what are the things you should know about Threads? Here is everything we know so far about Threads and what you should know too.
What is Threads?
Tech giant Meta launched its new app, Threads, on July 6th. It is a text-based conversation app that, according to Meta, is designed to be a space “where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow.” Viewed as an extension of Instagram, Threads instantly took the internet by storm.
On Friday, Zuckerberg said Threads had already reached 70 million users. For context, ChatGPT hit 100 million users in two months, TikTok reached that mark in 9 months, and Instagram reached 100 million users in 2.5 years. So, you can well imagine how the beginning has been for Threads.
In its outlook, this app is much like Twitter. If you are familiar with Twitter, you can’t help but notice the similarities. The heart-shaped symbol to like a post or a circle of arrows to repost – the icons remain the same. The character limit of text posts, however, is 500. You can also include links, photos, and videos up to five minutes in duration. When compared to the 280 character limit of Twitter, this can be a real game changer for people looking to create some longer text posts.
Where do Threads and Twitter Differ?
Threads can be a serious threat to Twitter, coming at a time when the latter has been particularly vulnerable. Since Elon Musk took over the platform in October 2022, Twitter has faced several backlashes. Recently, Twitter imposed a temporary limit on how much content users can view each day, and that angered the users. Threads can be a welcome alternative to these users with no limit to how much content or how many posts you can add or view.
Threads has launched as a standalone app but is currently not available for users outside Instagram. Users having an Instagram account can use the same credentials to use Threads and can even follow the same accounts they follow on Instagram, making it a seamless addition for Instagram users. The app has not displayed any advertisements as of now. But taking into account Instagram’s massive user base of over 2 billion, displaying ads seems only that far.
Threads is being dubbed as “Twitter Killer” and is available for download in over 100 countries through both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store. The launch in the European Union is delayed over data privacy concerns.
What’s Special About Threads?
According to Industry analysts, investors can be excited about the potential of the newly launched app due to its integration with Instagram. Thanks to this, Threads is getting built on an already existing 2 billion+ user base, and that’s something to be excited about for advertisers.
The equation is quite simple. If a user with a large number of followers starts posting on a platform, it will quickly gain followers. This is just what has happened with Threads. A number of famous people have already signed up for the app, including Shakira, Oprah, Jennifer Lopez, and Gordon Ramsay. Prominent brands such as Billboard, HBO, Netflix, and NPR have also followed.
Seeing its massive start, Mark Zuckerberg has predicted a billion users in the coming days. In a post on Twitter on Threads, Zuckerberg said, “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.”
Problems with Threads
However, there are some early complaints, such as the lack of a private messaging feature and no trends or hashtags to follow popular content. There are also no timeline curation options other than muting accounts or words and blocking others. Another big drawback is that Threads is an app that is currently not running on desktops.
Twitter has two feeds – a recommendation and another one that shows tweets from whom you follow. Unlike that, Threads has just got one feed that combines posts from whom you follow and content that it ‘thinks’ you will want. That could get annoying at times. When it comes to verification, users can still buy Blue Ticks for a monthly fee, just like on Twitter.
Another major drawback of the Threads app is that you cannot delete your account without deleting your Instagram account as well. You can, however, deactivate your account.
Future of Threads
The owner of the Meta Network says that they are planning to make Threads compatible with ActivityPub, the open social networking protocol established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This body is responsible for creating the open standards that power the modern web. This would mean that Threads will be interoperable with other apps supporting the ActivityPub protocol, such as Mastodon and WordPress. This will allow making new types of connections that are not available on most social apps today.
Technically, this would mean more control over your audience on Threads. Working with ActivityPub can mean that if you want to, you can stop using Threads and transfer your content to another service. Also, people using compatible apps will be able to follow and interact with people on Threads even when they do not have a Threads account.
Conclusion
While Threads give us a great platform to share our thoughts in the text format and follow others as well, it is still just a start, and it is too early to say that it will replace Twitter. But getting launched at a time when Twitter is facing heavy backlash, this move seems brilliant from Mark Zuckerberg. In addition to providing users with a brand new platform to share their thoughts, it acts as an extension of Instagram, and the integration between the two is seamless. There are some drawbacks, however. But with over 100 million users within a week of its launch, the craze with Threads seems too real to ignore.
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