Meta’s Threads vs Twitter: A Battle for Social Media Dominance
Written by Sanjay Kumar
Meta
Technology Company
- Founders: Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes
- Headquarters: Menlo Park, California, United States
- Founded: February 2004, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
- CEO: Mark Zuckerberg (Jul 2004–)
- Subsidiaries: WhatsApp, Novi Financial, Inc., Reality Labs, MORE
- CTO: Andrew Bosworth
- CFO: David Wehner
Threads, Meta’s newly launched platform aiming to compete with Twitter, achieved an impressive milestone with 5 million sign-ups within a mere four hours of its launch. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared an earlier update, stating that Threads had surpassed 2 million sign-ups in just the first two hours.
Opinions on whether Threads will surpass Twitter are divided. Some believe that its integration with Instagram, which grants it access to an established user base, will provide an advantage, particularly as Elon Musk and new Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino strive to revitalize the struggling platform. Conversely, others argue that Twitter’s focus on news, which differs from Instagram’s primarily visual nature, will be challenging to replace.
In fact, for Meta to rival Twitter’s user base, Threads only needs to attract a quarter of its current Instagram user count.
When questioned about the potential for Threads to surpass Twitter, Zuckerberg commented, “It will take some time, but I believe there should be a public conversation app with over 1 billion users. Twitter had the opportunity to achieve this but hasn’t fully capitalized on it. Hopefully, we will.”
Earlier, Zuckerberg introduced Threads as an “open and friendly public space for conversation.” He expressed the intention to combine the best aspects of Instagram and create a fresh experience.
“Our vision is to leverage the best features of Instagram and offer a novel experience for text, ideas, and discussions. I believe the world needs this type of friendly community, and I am grateful to all those who have joined Threads from day one. The Threads app is now available on the app store,” he announced.
When a user suggested that Threads should prioritize kindness, the Meta CEO affirmed, “We are certainly prioritizing kindness and aiming to create a friendly environment.”
Interestingly, after the launch of Threads, Zuckerberg made a return to Twitter after an 11-year absence to share a meme.
— Mark Zuckerberg (@finkd) July 6, 2023
The Meta CEO posted an image from the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon “Double Identity,” depicting a man dressed as Spiderman pointing at another character. The scene involves a villain attempting to impersonate the hero.
