Does Meta's Threads Tidy Up Twitter's Loose Ends? A Quick Threads Summary

Over the last few months, rumours have been circulating about a new app being deployed by Meta, and the day finally arrived: Meta has just released a cool new text-based app called Threads, and it's available for free download in over 100 countries. You can grab it from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store right now. Developed by the Instagram team, Threads lets you share text updates and join public discussions. And here's the best part: if you already have an Instagram account, you can simply use that to log in and start posting away!

With Threads, you can write text updates up to 500 characters long, and you can even jazz them up with links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length. And that's not all—soon, you'll also be able to follow hashtags and trending topics. Plus, if there are certain accounts you're not interested in, you can unfollow, block, limit, or report them. And for those who want to keep things clean, you can filter out specific words too. Sounds pretty familiar, right?

On July 6, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, made the big announcement with a Reel on his personal account. Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Meta, broke his decade-long Twitter silence with an epic Spider-Man face-off meme. It's no coincidence that Threads seems to be Twitter's new competitor. The launch of Threads aligned perfectly with the rumours of an impending mixed martial arts cage match between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg in Las Vegas. It also happened around the same time that Musk imposed daily tweet quotas on Twitter users, likely connected to data collection by companies working on advanced AI models.

While Twitter is stuck in a chaotic doom loop, and with just a month to go until Twitter's new CEO unveils their Twitter 2.0 strategy, Zuckerberg tweeted, "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."

Within the first 24 hours of its release, Threads managed to attract a whopping 30+ million registrations. Celebrities and creators like Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Gordon Ramsay, Connor Franta, and Gary Vaynerchuk, along with many public figures, have already jumped on the bandwagon, posting text updates and urging their followers to download the app. Even brands like HBO, Netflix, Spotify, Wendy’s, T-Mobile, OREO, Ryanair, ASOS, Pepsi, Amazon, Sony, Coca-Cola, and Sephora have joined in on the action, creating profiles and engaging with the community through exciting content.

Meta describes Threads as a place where communities can come together to discuss anything and everything. Whether you're passionate about the hottest topics of the day or what's going to trend tomorrow, Threads is the spot to connect with your favourite creators and others who share your interests. Or, if you've got some brilliant ideas, opinions, or creativity to share, you can build a loyal following of your own and let the world experience your awesomeness!

Here's what we know so far:

• For our friends in the EU, we're sorry to say that Threads isn't available just yet. Meta is still working through some regulatory concerns, specifically related to the EU's Digital Markets Act.
• If you're under 16 (or under 18 in certain countries), when you join Threads, you'll automatically be set up as a private profile.
• Signing in to Threads is a breeze! You can simply use your existing Instagram credentials, and you'll keep your usernames, followers, and verification status intact. No need to start from scratch.
• Just like on Instagram, you can choose to follow the same accounts on Threads. This makes it easy for you to connect with the people and content that matters to you. And if you're looking for more like-minded individuals, you can easily discover and follow people who care about the same things you do.
• Switching accounts is possible on Threads, but you'll need to log out first and then make the switch. This helps to make sure you have a seamless experience, even when you're juggling multiple accounts. However, in our opinion, this could be improved upon - a lot.
• Get ready to add some flair to your posts! You can include up to 10 media files in a single post, and yes, that means you can add more than one video too. And the best part is that it can be done in carousel style.
• If you decide to delete your Threads account, please note that it will also delete your associated Instagram account. But don't worry, you always have the option to delete individual posts if you'd like.
• There are some exciting new features in the pipeline. Keep an eye out for improved recommendations in your feed, voice notes, photo and video tagging, post reactions, and a more robust search function.
• According to the Guardian, Meta won't be showing any ads in the Threads app—at least not in 2023.

In the face of competition from emerging decentralized microblogging platforms like Mastodon, Meta is determined to give users more control over their audience. That's why they've partnered with ActivityPub, a decentralized social networking protocol supported by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This partnership ensures that if you ever decide to stop using Threads, you can easily transfer your content to another platform. Meta envisions a future where people using compatible apps can follow and interact with Threads users without needing a Threads account, and vice versa. However, many big-tech and cybersecurity experts have noted that Meta will not have ActivityPub on the launch date, making it a potential privacy nightmare (why else are they struggling with regulatory hurdles in the EU?).

So, go ahead and join the Threads revolution. Express yourself, connect with others, and let the world hear what you have to say. Remember to follow us @writershandstudios on the new app!