Global Courant
The launch of the social media app Wires being a competitor to Twitter is a game changer.
Meta, which also owns Facebook and Instagram, launched the new platform ahead of schedule yesterday. Threads was welcomed almost immediately – especially by hordes of Twitter users who have watched in dismay as their beloved platform crumbles in the hands from Elon Musk.
In less than 24 hours, Threads attracted some 30 million users. And since Meta already has over two billion Instagram users who can link their accounts directly to it, Threads’ user base will grow rapidly.
Mark Zuckerberg posted on Threads to celebrate his 30 million new users. Wires
With its simple black and white feed and features that let you comment, praise, quote, and comment on other people’s “threads,” the similarities between Threads and Twitter are obvious.
The question now is: will Threads be the one to finally dethrone Twitter?
We’ve been here before
Last October, Twitter users watched helplessly as Elon Musk became CEO. Mastodon was the first ‘escape plan’. But many liked its decentralized servers difficult And confusing to usewith each having very different content rules and communities.
Many Twitter fans “backed up” Mastodon accounts in case Twitter crashed and waited to see what Musk would do next. The wait was not long. Platform instability and outages became common when Musk started laying off Twitter staff (he’s now laid off about 80% of Twitter’s original workforce).
Soon after, Musk horrified users and made headlines by flipping Twitter’s verification system on its head and forcing “blue tick” holders to pay for the privilege of authentication. This opened the door for account impersonations and widespread misinformation sharing. Some major corporate brands left the platform and took their advertising dollars with them.
Musk also labeled trusted news organizations like the BBC as state-owned media, until public backlash forced him to back down. More recently, he began limiting the number of tweets users can view and announced that TweetDeck (a tweet scheduling management tool) would be limited to paid accounts.
Twitter users have tried several alternatives, including Spoutible and Post. Bluesky, which comes from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, is gaining ground, but its growth is limited due to its invitation-only registration process.
Nothing had captured the imagination of Twitter followers… until now.
Threads has been joined by a number of popular figures, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Oprah Winfrey, the Dalai Lama, Shakira, Gordon Ramsay and Ellen DeGeneres. Wires
Community is the key to success
Before Musk’s reign, Twitter was successful for years. It had long been a home for journalists, governments, academics and the public to share information on the most important issues of the day. In emergencies, Twitter provided real-time support. During some of the worst disasters, users have shared information and life-saving decisions.
Although not without flaws – such as trolls, bots and online abuse – Twitter’s verification process and its ability to block and report inappropriate content have been central to Twitter’s success in building a thriving community.
This is also what sets Threads apart from competitors. By linking Threads to Instagram, Meta has given itself a significant edge in reaching the critical mass of users necessary to establish itself as a leading platform (a privilege that Mastodon did not enjoy).
Not only can Threads users keep their username, they can also take their Instagram followers with them. The ability to hold the community in an app that offers a similar experience to Twitter makes Threads its biggest threat yet.
My research shows that people crave authority, authenticity, and community the most when they engage with online information. In our new bookmy co-authors Donald O Case, Rebekah Willson and I explain how users search for information from sources they know and trust.
Twitter fans want an alternative platform with similar functionality, but above all they want to find ‘their people’ quickly. They don’t want to have to rebuild their communities. This is probably why so many have stayed on Twitter, even though Musk did such a good job of driving it into the ground.
Challenges to come
Of course, Twitter users may also be concerned about the frying pan jumping into the fire. Logging into yet another Meta app brings its own set of concerns.
New Threads users who read the fine print note that their information will be used to “personalize ads and other experiences” on both platforms. And users have pointed out that you can only delete your Threads account if you delete your Instagram account.
This kind of entrenchment can be off-putting to some.
In addition, Meta decided yesterday not to launch Threads anywhere in the European Union due to regulatory concerns. The new EU digital markets law could pose challenges for Threads.
Shutterstock
For example, the law stipulates that companies “cannot track end users outside of (their) core platform service for the purpose of targeted advertising, without effective consent.” This may conflict with Threads’ privacy policy.
Meta also has announced plans to eventually move Threads to a decentralized infrastructure.
The app’s “How Threads Works” details state that “future versions of Threads will work with the fedivers”, allowing “people to follow each other and interact with each other on different platforms, including Mastodon.”
This means people can view and use Threads content from non-meta accounts without having to log into Threads. Using the ActivityPub standard (which allows for decentralized interoperability between platforms), Threads could then function similarly to WordPress, Mastodon, and email servers, allowing users from one server to communicate with others.
When and how Threads realizes this decentralized engagement plan — and how it might impact user experience — is unclear.
Did Meta steal ‘trade secrets’?
As for Musk, he’s not going down without a fight. Just hours after the release of Threads, Twitter’s lawyer Alex Spiro released a letter accusing Meta of “systematic” and “unlawful misappropriation” of trade secrets.
The letter claims that former Twitter employees hired by Meta were “intentionally assigned” to “develop Meta’s copycat ‘Threads’ app within months.” Meta has disputed these claims, according to reportsbut the rivalry between the two companies seems far from over.
Lisa M Given is Professor of Information Sciences & Director Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University
This article has been republished from The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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