In the early morning hours, Meta Platforms, the parent company of social networking giants Facebook and Instagram, introduced its new text-based platform, Threads. The platform’s launch was reported by news agency AFP and has already garnered positive reception from users. Notably, Threads aims to compete with Twitter, offering similar features but with the added benefit of longer message lengths.

According to The Guardian, Threads is currently available in approximately 100 countries, excluding the European Union due to concerns surrounding data privacy. Users on the new platform welcomed its arrival, with Mark Zuckerberg, the head of Meta, quickly accumulating thousands of likes within minutes of his first post. The media has observed that Threads bears a resemblance to Twitter in terms of appearance and functionality, but it allows users to compose messages of up to 500 characters, compared to Twitter’s limit of 280 characters for most users. Additionally, videos posted on Threads can be up to five minutes long.

A strategic move by Meta is allowing users to log in to Threads via Instagram, which could contribute to its rapid popularity growth. With Instagram boasting over two billion monthly active users, compared to Twitter’s approximately 364 million, even a fraction of Instagram users adopting Threads could result in substantial growth for the new platform.

As Twitter underwent changes following Elon Musk’s acquisition last year, many users have been seeking alternative communication channels. The German government recently expressed its consideration of transitioning to other platforms due to the shifts on Twitter. The Wall Street Journal also reported technical difficulties, loss of advertisers, and criticism regarding content moderation on Twitter. However, among the startups, such as Mastodon, Truth Social, and Bluesky, none have emerged as direct competitors to Twitter thus far, according to the WSJ.

The success of Threads in the highly competitive social media landscape remains uncertain. However, its launch indicates that Meta Platforms is serious about expanding beyond Facebook and Instagram. With its similar interface and extended message format, Threads presents a viable alternative for users seeking a change from Twitter. Only time will reveal if Threads can truly compete with Twitter and other social networks in terms of popularity and user engagement.

Article by Prague Forum