The unveiling of Threads, a new app by Instagram, addresses what Insta never had – 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 vision? 

With 2.35 billion monthly active Instagram users, the intention of carrying forward all of them 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 you have Twitter? Has the Zuckerberg vs Musk fight elevated beyond a 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 have crossed 10M sign ups. It crossed two million in the first two hours. In 24 hours, the count has reached 30 M. The Thread 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 offer additional safety features where users are given the power to filter out restricted/unpleasant words. A feature that is not available on Twitter. 

Source: Instagram Blog

While Meta has been calling out safety features, Threads is not free of roadblocks. Threads 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 data that Meta will have over users. 

The company has also 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 mode to retain customers. 

The Other Players

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 as this is not the first time Meta has introduced the same. In 2019, Threads was launched as an app that was 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 maybe come up with a convenient platform, Meta came up with the best solution possible: copy from Twitter. 

Zuckerberg is infamous for copying features from other social platforms and replicating it on his platform. Instagram features such as Stories and Reels are a direct copy of SnapChat and Tik Tok respectively.  

The Reigning Champion

But the question remains. 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 platform?  Instagram a photo and video sharing app caters to an audience that wants to consume visual content. To convert that audience to a text-based forum seems tricky. Twitter, having 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 have hailed the new app a success, including Mark Cuban and Lex Fridman, others have called it an ‘only-algorithmic timeline’ with none of the good content as that on Twitter. With the current features, Threads is far from reaching Twitter status. The new app may be successful in onboarding Insta users to their platform but has nothing new to offer to the loyal Twitteratis. 

As a challenge to platforms that may try to imitate Twitter, Linda Yaccarino, CEO of Twitter, termed the platform “irreplaceable.”

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