Why Threads is a big deal for Twitter.

Mark Zuckerberg sure knows how to pick up rivalries with other social media platforms. First, he copied TikTok by adding Reels to Instagram. Then, he took the idea of Stories from Snapchat. Now, he's going after Twitter with his new platform called "Threads." If you use Instagram, you've probably noticed lots of posts about Threads from Meta, because I definitely have.

Thread was launched last week on Wednesday and it has been the talk of town since then.

What is Threads?

Meta’s Threads is a micro-blogging platform that allows you to share short text updates in the form of “threads.”

If you’ve used Twitter, you’re already familiar with how threads work since it's a complete copy of twitter with very few differences.

Besides posting text updates, you can share messages, photos, post links, and videos. You can also join public conversations around your favorite topics and engage with like-minded people.

What is twitter?

Twitter is a popular social media platform that allows users to express themselves and share information in short messages called "tweets." With millions of active users, Twitter has become a global hub for real-time news, discussions, and social interactions. Users can follow other accounts to see their tweets in their feed and engage with them through likes, retweets, and replies. Twitter has also become a platform for public figures, businesses, and organizations to communicate directly with their audience and promote their ideas or products.

Elon musk concluded buying twitter in October last year.

Why is thread the biggest twitter threat to date?

Several apps that bear a striking resemblance to Twitter have sprung up in recent years such as Donald Trump's Truth Social and Mastodon. Another similar app, Bluesky claimed to have seen "record" traffic after Mr Musk's move to restrict usage at the weekend.

However, Threads could be the biggest threat faced by Twitter to date.

Why??

1.Timing

The timing for Mark Zuckerberg couldn't have been any better. He launched threads at the time when Musk is trying to monetize Twitter. By things such as:

• Twitter has said that the popular user dashboard, TweetDeck will go behind a paywall in 30 days time.

• The move is the latest push by Mr Musk as he tries to get users to sign up to Twitter's subscription service, Twitter Blue.

• On Saturday, the multi-billionaire restricted the number of tweets users could see, citing extreme "data scraping".

2.Instagram

Threads is connected to instagram which makes it easy for instagram users to just switch to thread this is the reason for its exponential increase in number of users. Threads is the only one to hit 100 million users in less than a week.

  3.Mark Zuckerberg

I think the biggest threat that twitter faces from threads is the person learning it. Mark is known to scale social apps such as Facebook and Instagram and I think He can do the same with threads. Unlike twitter, threads is trying to scale the number of users not making money for now.

Twitter vs threads.

1.Character Limit

For both apps you have very limited characters to play with, so you have to make every character count.

Twitter has a limit of 280 characters, beyond which you either have to write another post in the same thread or start a new thread.

On the other hand, Threads has a character limit of 500. So you can write more and express better on Meta’s creation than Musk’s app.

2.What’s Trending

Twitter serves as a popular platform for staying informed about current events worldwide. One prominent feature on Twitter's homepage is the "Trending" tab, which displays a list of hashtags and topics related to the most popular discussions. This feature remains Twitter's flagship, given its widespread usage. However, Threads, in contrast, currently lacks a similar functionality. The app does not provide a dedicated tab for important news and updates. To stay informed, users must rely on scrolling through their feed and learning from the pages they follow or the random ones that appear—a process reminiscent of the traditional Instagram experience.

3.Following List

Another interesting difference between Threads and Twitter is that Threads don’t come with a “following” list on the profile. The only way to know who you are following is by tapping the “followers” tab, then going to the “following” section.There’s another section called “pending,” where you can see all the accounts you have requested to follow.On the other hand, Twitter clearly has two different tabs for “following” and “followers.”

4.Video Limit

Since the internet is video-dominant, I saw it coming from miles away. Threads allow video uploads of up to 5 minutes, while Twitter allows only 2 minutes and 20 seconds. This can be a deal breaker for users who share videos regularly.

5.Blue Badge

By now, we all know that getting verified and getting that blue badge on Twitter and Instagram costs money. However, Threads does one better by allowing you to carry your Instagram blue badge with you on Threads for absolutely no additional cost.

This means you’re automatically verified on Threads if you’re verified on Instagram.

6.Availability

I know for a fact there are people who like to use social media platforms from their laptop or computer. Twitter understood the assignment for this purpose, which is why it can be accessed from all kinds of devices.

Threads, however, only allow accessing it from a smartphone or a tablet.

7.Messaging

Communicating directly with followers is one of the main things of social media, so every platform is expected to have a messaging feature. Sadly, unlike Twitter, Threads doesn’t have it at the moment. You can only communicate through comment.

Why is twitter a bull hard to knock down?

• Network effect. Twitter has a much larger network of users than Threads, which means that there are more people to follow and more conversations to participate in. This can make it more difficult for Threads to attract new users and grow its user base.

• Features. Twitter offers a wider range of features than Threads, such as direct messaging, polls, and trending topics. This makes it a more versatile platform for both personal and professional use.

• Brand recognition. Twitter is a well-established brand with a strong reputation. This makes it more likely that people will choose to use Twitter over a new platform like Threads.

• Threads is a more niche platform. Threads is designed for personal connection, while Twitter is designed for public conversation. This means that Threads is not as appealing to a wide range of users.

• Threads is not as discoverable. The Threads feed is algorithmically generated, which means that it is not as easy to find new content. This can make it difficult for users to discover new accounts and conversations.

• Threads is not as monetizable. Twitter has a number of ways to generate revenue, such as advertising and premium features. Threads does not currently have any monetization options, which could make it difficult to sustain the platform in the long term

Overall, it seems that Threads faces a number of challenges that will make it difficult to beat Twitter. However, the platform is still new, and it is possible that it will be able to overcome these challenges in the future.