A Closer Look at Meta’s Twitter-Like Threads

It is happening.

After months of speculation and hints of what will come, Meta has finally confirmed that its new Twitter-like social app, ‘Threads,’ will be launched globally this week.

Well, you can say not quite globally because of increased data privacy protections in the EU. But it is more than clear that the Threads will be available to European users after a while.

But for everybody else, you can start building your Threads following Thursday in the US. It is when the new app becomes available for download in the respective App Store.

Meta’s key focus is growing the new app If Zuck and Co. want to scoop up as many Twitter cast-offs as possible.

They will need a very good reason to lure them across, which is why they are making a combined effort to get high-profile users to post to the app as soon as and as much as possible.

Business Insider says many high-profile users have already been sent an onboarding guide. It advises them to post to Threads twice daily, at least, to get used to the new app.

The guide also notes that each person joining the Threads will get a number indicating when they signed up. It means low numbers could carry a degree of social clout.

Meanwhile, it is also suggested that users can distribute their posts to Instagram Stories to promote the app.

Instagram has reportedly contacted several big stars, like Oprah Winfrey and the Dalai Lama, about posting to the app and online influencers like Gary Vaynerchuk to generate early buzz for the platform.

And that might work. At the same time, several users will not be ready to leave Twitter for another beta platform. If people you want to hear from start posting there, you will probably download the app just to see what they say.

That curiosity could then lead you to check back in more often. It will lead to you posting your thoughts and embedding them into the app for your regular social media rotation.

It is the best way to approach the take-up challenge than other Twitter alternatives that have been adopted thus far, and really, it is because it is coming from Meta that it can make such a high-profile pitch.

Celebrities will stay unaffected from getting in touch with an unknown app, but the increased likelihood of this particular app will become a thing that several will see and sign-up for.

At the least, testing it out early on could be the critical growth momentum it needs.

And it is, essentially, Twitter under a different name. However, some users remain surprised that they have gone with ‘Threads’ as the app name.

Given this fact, Meta launched and recorded an app named ‘Threads’ two years ago.

The main focus of that app is more on DM groups. It was a different stuff back then. But it seems cursed and haunted by the failures of past apps of Meta.

In any event, Threads is coming, and Meta is making a big and flashy push to promote the app to steal some of the thunder from Twitter’s app.

More Twitter users question whether they want to keep participating in Elon’s social experiment.

Will it be the Twitter killer? Some users are still convinced that it can steal Twitter’s thunder. But, if there was ever, was an opportunity, then that time is now. And, if any company could do it, it would be the Zuckerberg juggernaut alone.

Meta has done it before, and it halted Snapchat’s growth momentum with its launch of Instagram Stories in 2016.

It has forced Snapchat’s team back to the drawing board and pushed their strategy back years.

Snapchat is now back to growth, but it has taken some time for the platform to re-establish its place, while Stories have continued to grow on Instagram and Facebook.

Maybe that could be Twitter’s fate too. Maybe, this is not the Twitter killer as some people like to think, but as many advertisers look for a new home.

Threads could quickly become relevant and squeeze Twitter even further if it gains momentum, forcing it to reassess its offering.

Maybe it cannot kill Twitter, but it has the best chance to change the roadmap of Twitter 2.0. It could potentially shrink the scope of Elon’s world-ruling ambitions.

You can access your profile code for Threads early by typing ‘threads, or ‘P92. You can also type ‘ticket’ or ‘1992’ into the Instagram search bar in the new version of the app.

You can click here for further details and updates on Meta and other social media updates.