Threads App: What is it all about, and how is it taking on Twitter?

On July 6, Meta owns Instagram debuted Threads, a text-based chat app aimed squarely at Elon Musk-controlled Twitter.

Threads, the seemingly unassuming sibling of Instagram, has taken the world by storm, leaving even the mighty ChatGPT in its wake. With a staggering 5 million users achieved in record time, this pocket-sized communication tool has left social media enthusiasts and analysts alike scratching their heads, desperate to uncover its secret sauce. So, let us don our detective hats and embark on a whimsical journey to unravel the enchanting tale behind the triumph of Threads.

Our goal is to reinvent the writing, idea, and discussion experience for social media by taking the greatest elements of Instagram. According to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, the world needs this welcoming community. More than 100 nations, including India, will have access to the app on iOS and Android. Zuckerberg said five million people signed up in the first four hours of the app’s introduction. As per Meta’s plans, the first report was released in March 2023 to release text-based software under the codename P92.

According to Instagram, this app will soon be ActivityPub compliant, enabling it to work with other applications like Mastodon and WordPress that already use the ActivityPub protocol.

This is the first Meta app that will work with other services, allowing users to communicate with a larger audience outside of Instagram and have the opportunity to move their material to another service in the future.

In a blog post, the company stated its “vision is that users of compatible apps will be able to follow and interact with people on Threads without having a Threads account, and vice versa, ushering in a new era of diverse and interconnected networks.”

At a time when rival Twitter is restricting its users by capping the number of tweets they can read each day, Zuckerberg has likewise positioned Threads as an “open and friendly public space for conversation.” To handle “extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation,” Musk recently stated that this step was “temporary.”

Additionally, as of July 5, Twitter has retracted its decision to prevent users from seeing tweets, user profiles, or comments on the web unless they are signed in to an account.

Deep integration with Instagram

Despite being a stand-alone app, Threads is closely connected to Instagram. By logging up with their Instagram account, users may publish ‘threads’ of up to 500 characters long that may contain links, images, and videos up to five minutes long. Then, users may post these threads on any other network of their choice, including their Instagram story.

The user’s Instagram username and verification will transfer, and they can edit their profile.

Additionally, it claimed that one may access the service’s current array of security and user settings by following the same profiles they follow on Instagram. Instagram stated that when individuals under 16 sign up for Threads, their default profile setting would be secret.

Users’ personalized feeds will contain threads from individuals they follow and suggested material from fresh producers they have yet to discover, according to a blog post by Meta, hinting that it would be an algorithmically powered feed.

To capitalize on the growing trend of Twitter users trying to switch to other platforms even as the social media platform struggles to handle the instability produced under the new owner Elon Musk, these capabilities will likely give Threads an advantage over a host of Twitter-like services.

Since Musk took over Twitter, several competing sites have debuted or gained popularity to draw these users. Mastodon, Bluesky, Post News, Spill, and T2 are a few of them.

How does Twitter compare to Instagram Threads?

Instagram Threads is still a feature-light, basic app. For instance, it simply allows you to search for individuals to follow, unlike Twitter, which offers a comprehensive search feature that enables you to explore tweets and trending topics. As with Instagram, you cannot submit posts directly to other users using Threads. However, the app’s journey has only begun and will probably continue to change over time. However, the fact that such a large user base supports Instagram Threads gives it the edge over Twitter. You have a successful formula if you combine it with the rising discontent around Elon Musk’s leadership of Twitter.

Though, with Musk’s purchase of Twitter, Threads isn’t the only Twitter alternative to emerge. Mastodon, the “anti-Twitter,” Bluesky, the Jack Dorsey-backed Twitter clone; Substack Notes, and several other options are available. However, because they had to start from scratch with their audiences, they might come across as quite lifeless to users used to the more dynamic Twitter. Mastodon is frequently viewed as needing to be more technical for the common user regarding new social media networks’ ease of use.

What is the past of Threads?

New Meta app Some Instagram users might recognize the term Threads. The same business previously released an Instagram companion app in 2019 under the moniker Threads. Users may exchange status updates and talk with their “Close friends” using this “camera-first” messaging software. Nevertheless, it was dropped in December 2021. Now that it’s back, a newly launched app that competes with Twitter has been released.

What is the road ahead for the platform?

Chris Cox, product head at Meta, laid out his goals for Threads at a company-wide conference in June. He wanted it to be a safe, trustworthy platform where creators could find a “stable home to build and grow their audiences.”

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the steward of the web’s open standards, invented ActivityPub, a universal protocol for social networking, and Meta aims to make Threads compatible with it. “This would enable new types of connections that are simply impossible on most social apps today,” Meta claims. “Threads would be interoperable with other apps supporting the ActivityPub protocol, such as Mastodon and WordPress.”

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