Threads vs Twitter: The New World War
A new social media war is brewing between two rival social apps Twitter and Threads. It is reported that the fight is now between Musk and Zuckerburg.
Social media apps have been constantly evolving and expanding, with new features added to applications such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc. Millions of people join these applications every day to meet new friends and family, forming relationships and bonds. Distance is not a factor anymore. Recently, the tech giants, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have been reported to be butting heads with each other, with news reports claiming that they plan to have a boxing match in the famous Colosseum in Rome. With the world anticipating the future of mankind, where do the tech gods stop?
We thought we had our answer when Elon Musk bought Twitter. Before that, Twitter was the subject of mass hate speech and trolls. People thought that if Musk bought Twitter, maybe he’d clear it up. At first glance that seemed to be working but soon enough, it seemed like everything had gone to hell. Elon Musk was reported to be crunching his employees and that they were sleeping in the Twitter offices. Eventually, the threads of Twitter began to unravel (pun intended) with many users wary of the increasing online harassment and disinformation, resulting in many employees leaving Twitter, leading Elon to clean up the mess. More news appeared that he planned to convert Twitter into a multi-service application which he called an “Everything App”.
THE ORIGIN STORY:
What Elon didn’t know, was that Meta (the umbrella that covers Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp) had started building an application similar to Twitter which they now call Threads. Threads appeared out of the ashes of Twitter like a phoenix on July 6, 2023, catching people’s attention far quicker than Twitter ever did when it launched back in 2006. Over 30 million people have joined the Twitter rival, with Threads logging in 5 million users in the first hour.
Many Twitter users who have been unhappy with the recent changes made to Twitter have immediately jumped ship to Threads, leaving Twitter wondering where many of its users have gone.
THE FEATURES:
While the user interface between both applications may seem similar at first glance, that is surely not the case. Features added up on Threads include post lengths of 500 characters compared to the 250 of Twitter, while videos up to 5 minutes can be uploaded on Threads in contrast to the 2 minutes, 20 seconds of Twitter. Another thing that attracted a lot of the users to Threads was the seamless transfer of information between Instagram and Threads since they’re both sibling applications.
However Threads has a few drawbacks in comparison to Twitter as well, for example, there is no direct messaging (DM-ing) feature in Threads as well as having no way to edit your post once you’ve posted it. Many users are also complaining about the fact that you cannot delete your Threads account without deleting your Instagram account as well.
However, Meta was quick to respond to this complaint and revealed that it was working on this problem, while in the meantime, Threads had the option to deactivate your account without affecting your Instagram accounts.
MUSK VS. THE ZUCK:
With the war between Threads and Twitter rising, and being the buzz of the whole internet, multiple news outlets claim that Twitter is gearing up to get back against Threads by taking legal action against it. Elon Musk tweeted very recently, claiming that “Competition is fine, cheating is not” while Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino said that though Twitter is often “imitated”, its community can never be “duplicated”.
Musk and Zuckerberg also have been trading words, instead of the promised blows at the Colosseum, with Zuckerberg claiming earlier that keeping the platform friendly would ultimately be the “key to its success”. Musk responded to this by saying that “It is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter than indulge in the false happiness of hide-the-pain Instagram”.
Overall the release of Threads has been celebrated and it has received a warm welcome with one person telling BBC that Threads was a much-needed competitor to Twitter. Zuckerberg was asked on Twitter (ironically) whether Threads would be bigger than Twitter, and he responded by saying: “It’ll take some time, but 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.“
BBC claims that Threads could cause real problems to Twitter. No doubt, Threads has been a breath of fresh air, with many people who weren’t even Twitter users signing up to Threads. The user-friendly and much more accepting atmosphere of Threads has made it a viable substitute for Twitter. On one side, we have a man who changed the world and how we build relationships and friendships using his creations, on the other, we have a man who is hell-bent on colonizing space. We do live in exciting times.
Are you excited to see what happens next?
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