Facebook and Instagram owner Meta has teased a new programme called Threads that will compete with Twitter for real-time digital conversations.
Mark Zuckerberg has long desired to supplant Twitter as the focal location for online public discourse. However, Twitter has remained irreplaceable.
This has not prevented Mr. Zuckerberg.
His company, Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, teased a new Twitter-competing application on Monday.
The Threads app, which is connected to Instagram, became available for pre-registration in the Apple App Store on Thursday, when it will be released. The app appears to function similarly to Twitter by emphasising public conversations and allowing users to follow Instagram contacts. Some technologists have dubbed the upcoming application a “Twitter killer.”
Mr. Zuckerberg is striking while Twitter undergoes renewed turmoil. Since Elon Musk purchased the social media platform a year ago, he has altered the service by modifying Twitter’s algorithm that determines which posts are most visible, removing content moderation rules that prohibit certain types of tweets, and revamping a verification system that confirms the identities of users.
Then, over the weekend, Mr. Musk imposed limits on the number of tweets app users could read at once. He stated that the decision was made in response to other companies “scraping” Twitter’s data. Users of Twitter were promptly notified that they had eclipsed their “rate limit,” effectively rendering the app unusable after a brief period spent perusing posts. Numerous Twitter users grew frustrated.
Lou Paskalis, founder and CEO of AJL Advisory, a marketing and advertising technology strategy firm, said of Mr. Musk and Twitter, “If there has ever been a more self-destructive owner of a multibillion-dollar enterprise who resents the very customers who determine the success of that enterprise, I am unaware of him.”
The most recent turmoil at Twitter appears to have provided Mr. Zuckerberg with an opportunity for Threads.
Since last year, Meta’s executives have discussed how to capitalise on Twitter’s turmoil, including by creating a competing service. The New York Times reported in December that a Meta employee wrote, “Twitter is in crisis, and Meta needs its mojo back,” in an internal post last year. “LET’S GO FOR THEIR BREAD AND BUTTER.”
This has led to the creation of Threads, an emergency initiative cast off from Instagram and internally known as initiative 92. According to screenshots displayed in Apple’s App Store, users will be able to enter into Threads using their Instagram credentials.
In a not-so-subtle dig at Mr. Musk’s erratic behaviour, Meta executives formerly referred to the app as a “sanely run” version of a public social network.
Mr. Musk and Twitter did not respond to a request for comment immediately. Jack Dorsey, one of the creators of Twitter, tweeted a screenshot of the application’s data policy, to which Elon Musk replied, “Yeah.”
A spokesperson for Meta did not respond promptly to a request for comment.
Meta is launching Threads despite its own obstacles. The Silicon Valley company has made significant investments in transitioning to the so-called metaverse, an immersive digital universe. However, the move has been met with scepticism because the metaverse is not mainstream.
In recent months, Mr. Zuckerberg has also reduced costs at Meta and pondered whether the company is falling behind in the artificial intelligence contest. In an employee meeting last month, he attempted to rally workers by explaining the mass reductions of the previous year and outlining a vision for how Meta’s work in artificial intelligence would integrate with its metaverse plans.
Despite these obstacles, Meta remains Twitter’s most credible competitor, with substantial resources and a user base of over three billion Facebook, Instagram, and other app users. Meta is a significantly lesser platform than Tumblr, Nostr, Spill, Mastodon, and Bluesky, which are all attempting to capitalise on Twitter’s vulnerability.
AJL Advisory’s Mr. Paskalis stated, “Facebook still has a massive user base, despite its waning popularity.” Its large user base, he added, will increase the likelihood that its counterfeit applications “will achieve success at the expense of Twitter.”
Facebook and Twitter have competed for years to capture the most recent online conversation. In the early days of Twitter, Mr. Zuckerberg attempted to acquire the company but was rejected. Prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Facebook made a significant effort to promote its live products and prominent topics at political events and on television.
Since then, Mr. Zuckerberg has prioritised livestreaming video — an area Twitter has also pursued — and trending keywords to enable users to investigate viral topics on Facebook and Instagram.
Mr. Zuckerberg and Mr. Musk might compete in a boxing match.
According to Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship sports franchise, the two men are contemplating the possibility of sparring in a mixed martial arts bout. Even though no date has been set, the tech titans have privately conveyed to Mr. White their willingness to fight, and the event is taking shape.
