A Brief Overview Of Threads - The Freshly Launched App from Meta. Is it A Twitter's Copycat?

On July 5th, 2023, Meta finally launched a new social network called “Threads” to diversify its fediverse which already includes Facebook and Instagram. Threads is now available on Google Play and App Store to be experienced, and it surely has caught a lot of attention from the Internet community recently.

Mark Zuckerberg is certainly very competitive since he unambiguously takes away many features from his competitor - Twitter, after taking Reels from Tiktok and stories from Snapchat. Therefore, this has raised a lot of controversial discussions throughout the Internet about whether or not Threads is a Twitter 2.0. Many users have downloaded Threads to experience this new application, and most of them have to admit that it does look like Twitter except for the different display and layout.

But the real question is, why did Mark do this? Perhaps he could just refer to Twitter by taking the micro-blogging feature and syncing it into Facebook or Instagram. So why did he have to create a whole new app just for this? Let’s find out together in the following article.

Preface to Threads

First and foremost, let’s take a look at this newly launched social networking platform from Meta, which allows users to create short blogs called “Threads.”

A quick look at Threads

Just one week after its publication, Threads has reached a new record of getting over 100 million new users, known as the fastest speed in the history of the Internet, according to Quiver Quantitative.

Threads is similar to Twitter in many aspects, the users can post short blogs of under 500 words, or they can share pictures, videos, and texts on the platform however they like. However, Threads is unlike Twitter at one point, it uses a more decentralized system that allows users to create their servers. Thus, this can create more space for public discussions around any topic, including sensitive ones like politics or religion.

How to download Threads?

Step 1: Search for the keyword “Threads” and download the app on App Store or Google Play.

Threads on App Store

Step 2: Open the app and log in with your selected Instagram account.

Log in Threads by existing Instagram accounts

Step 3: The system will sign you into Threads immediately via your Instagram account. However, if you are a new user, it will ask you if you want to change your profile picture, add a new name, add a bio, or insert a link. Or you can simply import that info from Instagram, and it will take you instantly to the Threads feed.

Step 4: Choose the privacy preference. There are two options: Keep your account published or private.

Step 5: Choose the accounts that you want to follow. The app will recommend to you the accounts that you already followed on Instagram. You can select which one you want to follow, or you can choose to follow all. Once this step is done, you can start experiencing Threads right after.

Why did Meta release Threads?

Ever since Twitter has a new CEO - who happens to be Elon Musk, a great number of Twitter users have decided to quit the platform. This number is estimated at over 30 million people, most of whom have left Twitter because of many new technical issues and the rapid increase in offensive content, according to The Guardian.

Just when Elon Musk was struggling with his new 44 billion-dollar company, Mark Zuckerberg immediately launched Threads to become the new and sole opponent of Twitter in the hope of welcoming those who quit Twitter to a new home - Threads.

Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg

Comparison between Threads and Twitter

Is Threads just a total clone of Twitter? Let’s dive into it.

Comparison chart between Twitter and Threads

There are still many more key differences, but the above bullet points are the main ones that you should know first before laying your hand on this brand-new social application. Overall, whether Threads or Twitter has pros and cons; there is no better app, so choosing which to use depends much on your personal preferences.

Will Threads become “Twitter Killer”?

As discussed before, Mark Zuckerberg decided to launch Threads to lure the new wave of users from Twitter into using his new app. However, the question is: “Will Threads become Twitter’s downfall?”. Twitter has lost a huge number of users ever since Elon Musk adjusted some policies of the app when he took over. Most notably, Twitter now charges users around 8 dollars/month to maintain the blue check mark, and they even limit the number of tweets that unpaid users can view each day, and this surely has angered a great number of Twitter users.

Therefore, Mark Zuckerberg instantly jumped in while Twitter was in big chaos. On July 6, 2023, a lawyer named Alex Spiro, representing Twitter, even alleged Threads with intellectual property theft. They threatened to sue Meta over its new social network Threads by sending a letter directly to the CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, but Meta managed to ward off this allegation.

The letter that was sent to sue Meta

Additionally, the new CEO of Twitter - Linda Yaccarino, tweeted on July 11, 2023, appeared to acknowledge the launch of Threads and its new record of hitting over 100 million users just five days after its release. However, she expressed a rather critical attitude toward Meta’s new app - Threads.

The tweet that showed Linda Yaccarino’s negative view on Threads

However, in the author’s opinion, it is most likely that Threads won’t be replacing Twitter anytime soon since the two similar platforms also have many distinct factors. The CEO of Instagram - Adam Mosseri, shared his thoughts on Threads as below.

Image credit: Deadline - Mosseri - CEO of Instagram, shared on Threads

It can be easily seen that Threads will be an ideal place for people who enjoy a less strained atmosphere and still want to exchange thoughts on various topics. Thus, the approaches of the two platforms share no common grounds since Twitter offers a more comfortable place to express any thoughts, including negative ones. On the contrary, Threads declared that it would try to keep the platforms as safe as possible but won’t down-rank news or politics.

Likely, the battle between Twitter and Threads would still prolong for a long time. However, there is no doubt that Threads’ rapid growth did pose a big threat to Twitter’s pool of users, as well as the ad revenues of Twitter, since there is a mass exodus moving to Threads. Threads is certainly still in its early days, but it surely has shown a very high engagement rate since a lot of big brands’ accounts have been receiving many interactions on their posts (CNN, Reuters, TIME, etc.).

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A Brief Overview Of Threads - The Freshly Launched App from Meta. Is it A Twitter's Copycat?

Comparison between Threads and TwitterIs Threads just a total clone of Twitter? Let’s dive into it.

Comparison between Threads and Twitter

Is Threads just a total clone of Twitter? Let’s dive into it.