Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has officially launched Threads, a new app that aims to provide a platform for real-time conversations online.
The move marks Meta’s significant effort to challenge Twitter, which has long been known for its key selling point of facilitating real-time discussions.
Threads bears a striking resemblance to Twitter in both layout and product description. The app aims to bring together communities to discuss various topics of interest, allowing users to connect with like-minded individuals and build a loyal following. With a character limit of 500, threads provide a concise space for users to express their ideas, opinions and creativity.
The app’s launch comes at a time when Twitter is facing its own challenges. Recently, the social media platform faced an outage after it imposed temporary limits on users’ use of tweets. Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, commented on the situation, suggesting that the bans were a response to data scraping and system manipulation problems.
In response to the Threads launch, Musk took a swipe at Meta’s executives, implying that they were running the company more prudently than Twitter.
Meta’s extensive resources and massive audience make Threads a formidable competitor to Twitter. The app joins a growing list of competitors challenging Twitter’s dominance of the social media landscape. Furthermore, Matter CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have engaged in a public rivalry, fueling competition between the two companies.
Regarding the rivalry, Musk expressed his skepticism, saying, “I’m sure the world can’t wait to be exclusively under Zuck’s thumb with no other option.” In response, Zuckerberg taunted Musk in an Instagram story, captioning a screenshot of Musk’s tweet with “Send me location.”
While Meta ventures into the real-time conversation space with threads, Twitter isn’t sitting idly by. In an effort to capture Meta’s territory, Twitter has introduced encrypted messaging and announced plans to add voice calling features. These developments put Twitter in direct competition with Mater platforms including Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
