The unveiling of Threads, a new app by Instagram, brings to you what Insta could not -- long-form content for ‘text updates and public conversations’. Wait, what is Twitter then? Is Zuckerberg simply copying what other platforms are getting right or has Meta really thought through this one?
With 2.35 billion monthly active Instagram users, the intention of carrying all of them over to the new Threads app may be an expectation, however, why would users from a photo-sharing platform want to download an additional app for conversations when they already have Twitter? Has the Zuckerberg vs Musk fight finally broken the cage?
What’s New?
Sparking a meme-fest and immediate comparison with Twitter, Threads is growing nonchalantly. As per reports, in less than seven hours of its launch, Threads has crossed 10M sign ups. It crossed two million in the first two hours; in 24 hours, the count has reached 30 million. The Threads app allows users to post up to 500 characters long posts and can include links, photos, and videos as long as 5 minutes. Though Twitter has a limit of 280 characters, Twitter Blue users has a higher limit of 10,000.
Threads also lacks many of the features available in Twitter such as direct messaging, search and hashtags. Currently, users can see a feed of posts recommended by the app. Threads also offers additional safety features, where users are given the power to filter out restricted/unpleasant words, a feature not available on Twitter.
Source: Instagram Blog
If Meta has been called out for its safety features, Threads is not sailing smooth either. The app is not available in the European Union owing to uncertainty over personal data use. Interestingly, Jack Dorsey, also seemed to rally on the data privacy issues. He shared a screenshot of the user data that Meta will be in possession of.
Moreover, the company has placed a bizarre clause for Instagram users. As per their Supplemental Privacy Policy, a user cannot delete their Threads profile without deleting their Instagram account -- an obvious lock-in strategy to retain customers.
The Other Players
Other social platforms such as Mastodon and Bluesky are worth remembering on this occasion. Jack Dorsey’s decentralised platform Bluesky uses an open protocol which serves as a bridge to connect different networks, allowing content to be shared and accessed easily. However, decentralisation has its fair share of problems, including zero moderation that can lead to a growing number of hate groups, spammers or criminals.
Mastodon, a microblogging social network works on a set of decentralised servers that are open-source and running free. The platform is laden with security concerns. While it uses basic encryption for direct messages between users, end-to-end encryption isn’t available, which can expose data to server admins.
Meta’s Meandering Vision
It would be apt to call the latest platform Threads 2.0 since this is not the first time Meta has introduced it. In 2019, Threads was launched as an app meant to be used alongside Instagram. It focused on sharing updates and connecting with friends, but the app did not become popular owing to inconvenient ways to read and respond to messages. The app was therefore shut in December 2021. To fix issues and bounce back with a better platform, Meta came up with the best solution possible -- copy from Twitter.
Zuckerberg is infamous nonchalantly for copying features from other social platforms and replicating it on his platforms. Instagram features such as Stories and Reels are a direct copy of SnapChat and TikTok, respectively.
The Reigning Champion
Coming back to the burning question: why would a Twitter user, who has built a massive list of followers, shift to another platform which doesn’t offer all the features available in the former? Instagram, a photo- and video-sharing app caters to an audience that wants to consume quick visual content. To convert that audience for a text-based forum seems tricky. Twitter, with its 373 million users, is not just a text-sharing platform but is synonymous for news, exclusive announcements, conferences via Twitter Spaces and many other features, none of which is available on Threads.
While some like Mark Cuban and Lex Fridman have called the new app a success, others have called it an ‘only-algorithmic timeline’ with none of the good content that Twitter has. With the current features, Threads is far from reaching the Twitter status. The new app may be successful in onboarding Insta users to their platform but has nothing new to offer to the loyal Twitterati.
Challenging the platforms that may try to imitate Twitter, Linda Yaccarino, CEO of Twitter, termed the platform “irreplaceable".
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