Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has unveiled a new app called Threads that aims to challenge Twitter’s dominance in real-time online conversations directly.
The app is slated to launch on Thursday, as indicated by a listing on the App Store. According to its App Store description, threads share several similarities with Twitter, emphasizing conversations and the ability to build a following and connect with like-minded individuals.
Threads is envisioned as a hub where communities can come together to discuss various topics, ranging from current interests to upcoming trends. The app seeks to enable users to follow and directly engage with their favorite creators and others who share similar passions. It also allows users to cultivate their dedicated following and share their thoughts, opinions, and creativity with the global audience.
Meta’s introduction of Threads coincides with a period of turbulence for Twitter. Over the weekend, the platform experienced an outage and imposed temporary Tweet limits. Now users can read limited tweets while using the app. These restrictions were implemented in response to data scraping and system manipulation concerns.
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of Twitter, commented on the Threads launch through a tweet, sarcastically remarking, “Thank goodness they’re so sanely run.” This appears to be a response to earlier remarks made by Meta executives, which seemed to criticize Musk’s erratic behavior.
Musk, who took Twitter private in October, has been instrumental in reshaping the social media platform, often to the chagrin of advertisers and prominent users. He is now actively exploring strategies to revitalize Twitter’s growth. As part of this effort, Twitter recently announced that users would soon need to pay for TweetDeck, a tool that facilitates the organization and monitoring of followed accounts.
Twitter has also been making its moves to encroach on Meta’s territory. In May, the platform introduced encrypted messaging and announced plans to add calling features, positioning itself to compete with Meta’s offerings, such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
The rivalry between Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, may extend beyond business and into combat. Reports have surfaced of discussions between the two men about a potential cage fight, with the Las Vegas arena that hosts the Ultimate Fighting Championship emerging as a possible venue for this showdown.
