The rivalry between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk is heating up as Meta, parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp & Instagram has launched a new app called Threads, which could be a rival to popular microblogging app, Twitter.
This was announced in an Instagram post on Thursday by Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg who described the new app as an open, friendly space for conversation.
“Big news everyone, we are launching Threads. An open and friendly public space for conversation. It takes the best parts of the Instagram experience and creates a whole new app around text, ideas, and sharing what’s on your mind.
“You just sign up with your Instagram account, you have your followers already there and you could just get started. It is available on the AppStore now”, he said.
Meta, the parent company of Instagram, is taking aim at Twitter with its new “Threads” app — a microblogging platform that links to your IG account. The app will go live on Thursday, according to the company.
Threads is currently available for pre-order on the Apple App Store. It markets itself as “Instagram’s text-based conversation app”; screenshots show a layout nearly identical to Twitter’s, but with the option to keep your Instagram username as well as the accounts you already follow.
DAILY GIST has compiled the key features you need to know about the newly launched Twitter-killer app, Threads.
1. Threads looks nearly identical to Twitter in many ways. Users can post mostly text-based messages to a scrolling feed, where people who follow them and whom they follow can reply.
2. Unlike Twitter, Threads, currently does not support direct messaging, a feature that Twitter offers.
3. Threads will help boost Instagram, which is a marquee app in Meta’s family of products.
4. Like Twitter, Threads will allow its users to discuss topics daily.
5. Threads will directly port users’ existing Instagram followers and the following list, eliminating the need to build a community from scratch.
6. It allows users to follow and connect directly with their favourite creators and others who love the same things — or build loyal followers of their own to share their ideas, opinions, and creativity with the world.
7. Threads is closely connected with Instagram, and will likely experience similar character features of 125 caption characters, 150 characters for Bio, and 30 characters for user name.
8. It may likely not face reading limits but action limits of 500 actions a day (including following, unfollowing, and liking).
9. People can post photos or video to the app.
10. Threads is the first app from Meta to push toward “decentralization” — the idea that users should be able to port their social media content, and interact with users, across different apps all built on the same underlying standards.
