The new social network Threads (Tópicos), a text-based application (app) built by Meta to compete with Twitter, went live on Wednesday and already has 30 million users from more than 100 countries.
Described as the text version of Instagram, a photo-sharing platform for Meta, the app counts among its users the likes of Oprah, Shakira and Gordon Ramsay and companies like Taco Bell, Netflix, Spotify, the Washington Post and other outlets.
Threads, which Meta says will provide “a new space of its own for live updates and public conversations,” comes up when looking for alternatives to Twitter, to escape Elon Musk’s tumultuous grip on the platform, since he acquired it last year for $44 billion.
But the new Meta app is also already raising privacy concerns for its users, which has led to its not being available in the European Union.
In fact, Threads may collect a wide range of personal information, including health, finances, contacts, social media search and browsing history, location, purchases, and “sensitive information.”
This is the main reason why Meta has not released Threads in the European Union.
Threads works very similar to Twitter. Users can spread a message already posted on the network, reply to or quote a topic, for example, and can see the number of ‘likes’ and redistributions made to a message.
A message on Threads can be up to 500 characters, compared to Twitter’s 280, and include links, photos and videos up to five minutes long.
The similarities between the two social networks suggest that Meta is challenging Twitter directly. The tumultuous way in which Musk has run Twitter has led to several unpopular changes that have led to the departure of several users and advertisers, some of whom are seeking an alternative.
In this scenario, Threads is the rival of the most recent Twitter, after Bluesky, Mastodon and Spill.
Threads’ success is far from guaranteed. Industry watchers point to Meta’s history of launching apps that are then shut down. One such case was an Instagram messaging system, also called Threads, that shut down less than two years after it launched in 2019, Forrester vice president and chief research officer Mike Proulx recalled.
“The euphoria around the new service will likely subside. But clearly this alternative is here to stay and will prove to be a credible rival, given all of Twitter’s problems,” said PP Foresight technology analyst Paolo Pescatore. and Instagram styling can encourage user engagement.
Threads is in its infancy. Much will depend on the reaction of users. Pescatore believes that the association between Instagram and Threads may not be obvious to everyone.
“The true test is not creating a fad, but finding enough value in the app to continue using it over time,” Instagram director Adam Mosseri said in a message posted to Threads.
On the other hand, he acknowledged, as many users have already done, that “tons of basic things” are missing, including hashtags. [etiquetas, rótulos] and the possibility of direct messages between users.
Source: TSF
