Meta Threads: The Future of Online Discussion?

Introducing THREADS, the new microblogging app that's taking Twitter by storm launched my Meta. Threads is a social media app that allows you to share your thoughts and ideas in short, 500-character messages and include links, photos, gifs, and videos 5 minutes in length called "Threads." Threads can be about anything, from your latest thoughts on the news to your favorite cat videos. Threads is different from Twitter in a few key ways. First, Threads is designed to be more conversational. You can reply to other people's Threads, start group chirps, and even create polls. Second, Threads is more visual. You can add images, videos, and GIFs to your chirps to make them more engaging. Third, Threads is more private. You can choose to make your Threads public, private (or only visible to your friends.)

 Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta just announced the initial version of Threads, an app built by the Instagram team for sharing text. Whether you’re a creator or a casual poster, Threads offers a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations. We are working toward making Threads compatible with the open, interoperable social networks that we believe can shape the future of the Internet.

If you're looking for a social media app that's more conversational, visual, and private, then Threads is the perfect app for you. Download Threads today and start Threading!

Five things to know about Meta Threads

1. Features similar to Twitter:
   Threads can be downloaded for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in over 100 countries. It is a text-based social messaging app in which users can post short messages that others can like, share, and comment upon. Posts can be up to 500 characters long and can include links, photos and videos up to 5 minutes in length.
   In fact, Zuckerberg took to Twitter, posting a well-known meme of Spiderman facing off against Spiderman – in a humorous jab at the rivalry with Musk and between the two services.
   
   
2. Built on the Instagram network:
   The app is built on the Instagram network, meaning users will be able to reuse their Instagram username with a few taps and automatically follow the same people they already follow on Instagram. However, Meta also lets you customize your Threads profile. Analysts have said Threads’ ties to Instagram might give it a built-in user base and advertising apparatus. That could siphon ad dollars from Twitter at a time when its new CEO is trying to revive its struggling business.“Investors can't help but be a little excited about the prospect that Meta really has a "Twitter-Killer',” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at investment firm AJ Bell."
   
   
3. Fediverse: enabling cross-platform interactions:
   Threads will support a novel feature known as Fediverse. This would enable Threads users to interact with people from alternative microblogging platforms like Mastodon. According to Instagram’s website, fediverse is “a social network of different servers operated by third parties that are connected and can communicate with each other... Our vision is that Threads will enable you to communicate with people on other diverse platforms we don’t own or control.”
   
   
4. . Twitter on the backfoot:
   Threads’ arrival comes after Zuckerberg and Musk have traded barbs for months, even threatening to fight each other in a real-life mixed martial arts cage match in Las Vegas – a match which was ‘canceled’ after Elon Musk’s mother stepped in. Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last October, but its value has since plummeted amid deep staffing cuts and content moderation controversies that have alienated both users and advertisers. Its latest move, which drew a lot of flak, involved limiting the number of tweets users can read per day. It is in this context that Threads hopes to make inroads in the market.“I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it. Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn't nailed it. Hopefully, we will,” Zuckerberg said recently."
   
5. Privacy concerns:
   Despite the promise Threads holds, and the timing of its launch, the new micro-blogging platform has already sparked controversy regarding its privacy policy. The official listing on Apple App Store reveals that Meta’s Threads may collect data on health, fitness, finances, contacts, browsing history, usage, location, search history, identifiers, and other sensitive information.

Twitter v/s threads

Twitter and Threads are both social media platforms that allow users to post text, images, and videos. However, there are some key differences between the two platforms. Threads is a social media app that allows you to share your thoughts and ideas in short, 500-character messages and include links, photos, gifs, and videos 5 minutes in length called "Threads." Threads can be about anything, from your latest thoughts on the news to your favorite cat videos. Threads is different from Twitter in a few key ways. First, Threads is designed to be more conversational. You can reply to other people's Threads, start group chirps, and even create polls. Second, Threads is more visual. You can add images, videos, and GIFs to your chirps to make them more engaging. Third, Threads is more private. You can choose to make your Threads public, private (or only visible to your friends.
The best platform for you will depend on your individual needs and preferences. If you want to share your thoughts and ideas with a large audience, Twitter is a good option. If you want to connect with your close friends and family in a more intimate way, Threads is a better choice.

Twitter-meta rivalry

there has been a growing rivalry between Twitter and Meta. This is partly due to the fact that they are both vying for the same users. It is also due to the fact that they have different approaches to social media. Twitter is more focused on real-time conversation, while Meta is more focused on building communities. Meta has released Threads, it's standalone Twitter competitor that is based on Instagram’s account system. According to the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, Twitter’s “volatility” and “unpredictability” under Musk provided the opening to compete. In an interview, Mosseri says that Threads is designed for “public conversations,” a direct reference to how Twitter execs have described the purpose of the service over the years." Meta has been busy this week onboarding a bunch of celebrities from the worlds of Hollywood, music, professional sports, business, and the like to Threads ahead of its public release. Celebs already spotted on the app include Karlie Kloss, Tony Robbins, Dana White, Gordon Ramsay, Ellie Goulding, Jack Black, Russell Wilson, and the Brazilian pop star Anitta.

The growing platform for online discussions

Threads. In less than 24 hours since its debut, Threads has witnessed an astonishing surge, surpassing 95 million posts and attracting over 50 million profiles, as per the exclusive internal data obtained by The Verge. Threads, developed by Meta's Instagram team, was introduced to iOS and Android users in 100 countries, instantly soaring to the top of the App Store's free app rankings. Designed as a platform for sharing text updates and participating in public conversations, the platform seeks to boost connections between users with similar interests. American YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, more popularly known as MrBeast has set a Guinness World Record (GWR) for becoming the first person to reach one million followers on Meta’s newly-launched platform Threads. Easily surpassing Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in terms of follower count, the social media personality achieved this feat within a few hours of joining the app on Thursday and by sharing just three posts.

According to a report by Tech Crunch, Mosseri’s perspective on this is odd and somewhat concerning. For starters, it is reminiscent of some of the bland ways that Facebook has marketed itself over the years: basically a big, welcoming, neutral place where people might “connect” — Mark Zuckerberg’s go-to pitch. His company ritualistically encouraged certain types of information and behavior, going against its declared impartiality, which drove Facebook users further into ideological echo chambers and stoked the extremism and polarisation that currently afflicts world politics. Instagram, and now Threads, are purposefully made to mix regular users with companies, promoting business activity everywhere they go. As expressed by Tech Crunch, public squares are not merely for business and trade, despite the lofty idea of a virtual public square or town hall being frequently invoked by social media executives to further the agenda of the day. They have historically served as the center of culture and a forum for political debate, which is an inevitable byproduct of living in a society. Twitter, historically, has been the center of many cultural phenomena. From Me Too to the Arab Spring, the platform has not only been a platform to post random things but has actually impacted and changed the discourse of many cultural and world events. It has been the hub for breaking news and a platform that gave rise to a different vertical of journalism.