Meta’s new social media app, Threads, has made a significant impact in its first few hours, with ten million users signing up to the platform, according to Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta. The app, designed to rival Twitter, allows users to “build something great together,” as Zuckerberg stated in his post on the platform. He also revealed that Threads had received 10 million sign-ups within just seven hours of its launch.
Threads is currently available on both Apple and Android stores in approximately 100 countries. However, its debut in the EU has been delayed due to privacy concerns. The app has been hailed as a direct challenger to Twitter’s dominance in the social media market, which faced criticism after several changes were implemented following Elon Musk’s acquisition.
On Thursday, Zuckerberg responded to queries about whether Threads would surpass Twitter, stating that it would take time but he believes there should be a public conversation app with over one billion users. He also expressed hope that Threads would succeed where Twitter had failed in creating such an app.
Threads shares many features with Twitter but offers users the ability to compose longer messages, with a character limit of 500 compared to Twitter’s 280. Twitter’s paid subscription service, Twitter Blue, has a 10,000-character limit.
Zuckerberg’s response to American entrepreneur Gary Vee’s Threads post emphasized the app’s focus on kindness and friendliness. He also indirectly criticized Musk’s notorious “s**t-posting” on Twitter, stating that it is not his personal style.
One advantage that Threads has over other standalone social media platforms challenging Twitter is its access to Instagram’s global audience of two billion users, as Meta owns Instagram. Jasmine Engberg, an industry expert from Insider Intelligence, predicts that Threads only needs a quarter of Instagram users to migrate to the platform to reach the same size as Twitter.
Unfortunately, the launch of Threads in the EU remains uncertain due to concerns raised by Brussels regarding Meta’s handling of personal data on its platforms. Meta relies on user data for its targeted advertising strategy, which generates billions of dollars in profits each year.
In conclusion, Threads has made a strong start, attracting millions of users in its first few hours. With its emphasis on kindness and the potential support from Instagram’s massive user base, it poses a real challenge to Twitter’s dominance in the social media market. However, its availability in the EU is still uncertain due to privacy concerns.
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