Meta, the owner of Facebook, has revealed its new app, Threads, a rival to Twitter, will go live on July 6 after weeks of back and forths between Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter’s owner Elon Musk.
The Threads app looks very similar to Twitter, and Meta describes the new social media platform as a “text-based conversation app”. Users will be able to follow their Instagram followers from the start, use their same username, and reply in threads similar to a Tweet.
Apps like Mastodon and Blue Sky have tried to gain momentum in the midst of Twitter’s turmoil since the platform was purchased by Musk last year. Although, neither has managed to gain mainstream popularity. Threads, however, has Meta behind it, and while many dislike Meta’s platforms, the company knows how to succeed in social media.
Instagram has over 1 billion users, which means if Threads is launched correctly, it could gain instant traction in a world where users are getting tired of Twitter and Reddit’s recent shenanigans.
A fight to the death?
Last month, Zuckerberg and Musk agreed to a cage fight to settle their differences following months of Twitter arguments.
After the Threads launch announcement, Musk responded, “Thank goodness they’re so sanely run”.
The launch of Threads comes as Twitter continues to make drastic changes that impact its loyal userbase, including the restriction of the number of tweets users can see alongside paywalled benefits behind the premium, Twitter Blue.
It will be interesting to see how Threads does once it launches on July 6, as the world is clamoring for the next successful social media platform following Twitter’s continued disarray and the closure of third-party Reddit apps last month. Although, you’ll probably need to let Meta have lots of personal data to even open an account.
