This is called good timing. In the midst of an imbroglio on Twitter over tweet restrictions, Meta (parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) decided to take advantage of the gap to reveal (more or less voluntarily) the first sketches of “Threads”.
This new app wants to be a competitor to Twitter, and it’s an understatement to say that the idea didn’t necessarily please its owner Elon Musk.
· How long has Meta been working on the project?
If the announcement of this new application coincides with the adventures experienced by Twitter in recent months, the Meta project goes back much further. In 2019, the first information appeared about a development by Facebook of a messaging application for Instagram. The idea then was to create a kind of Messenger for the photo and video sharing app.
The objective set by Facebook at the time was to allow Instagram users to chat privately with a restricted circle of friends, for example to share their location or their battery percentage. It is clear that the project had not seen the light of day, but it was gradually reshaped towards the application mentioned today. According to Chris Cox, Meta Product Manager, Threads started coding in January 2023.
What will the threads look like?
A first breakthrough was given thanks to the developer Alessandro Paluzzi, always aware of the latest news on social networks. Threads thus uses the well-known codes of Twitter users: a news feed where text messages are linked with the possibility of adding photos and videos, “like”, “comment” and “repost” buttons and a limit of characters.
The logo of the application will not have anything to do with Twitter or the other applications of the Meta group since it is a simple stylized white on a black background.
Threads’ interest will be above all its connection to the user’s Instagram account. During registration, it will be possible to log in with your Instagram username and retrieve your contacts. Blue checkmarks will also be present and identify certified platform accounts.
· When will the application be available?
If progress has been made it is mainly because Threads has made a prominent appearance in the Google Play Store. The product sheet is still available and specifies the contours of this future application.
Please note, however, that it is impossible to download Threads at the moment. No official release date has been announced, but given this arrival in the Google store, a first version of the application could be released soon.
· How did Twitter react?
Moderately, or almost. Elon Musk reacted on his Twitter account to the first announcements of this competitor, indicating “to be sure that the Earth cannot wait to be under the exclusive control of Zuck (Mark Zuckerberg, editor’s note) no other choice,” in a since-deleted tweet.
This announcement of a new social network has thus ignited the already existing rivalry between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. It is from this announcement that the idea of a cage match between the two billionaires came up, still unofficial but not yet denied.
Source: BFM TV
