Threads Is Officially Out, Will It Be A Threat To Twitter?
Meta releases Threads which by all accounts looks like Instagram but feels like Twitter, just without Elon Musk.
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While Twitter has enjoyed years of being the major player in the microblogging social media category, it now has what looks to be a potential major contender.
Meta officially unleashed Threads today, which is an Instagram app that works hand in hand with a user’s Instagram account, if they so choose to activate it.
You will have to download the Threads app on Google Play Store or the Apple App Store and select the Instagram account you want to use in Threads.
The Rakyat Post is on Threads and we would appreciate a follow. Find us here for our English site or here for our Bahasa Malaysia site.
Barely two hours of Meta releasing Threads, it has been downloaded over 2 million times. This was shared by Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg in a Threads post today.
Threads however is not yet on desktop. The Threads link opens to a QR code for you to download the app.
If you come across threads.com on desktop, take note that is not the Meta app you’re looking for. Threads.com is a work tool for teams, and with Meta using the same name, they have had to indicate on their login page that they are not the “social app from Instagram.”
The Headache That Is Twitter
Since billionaire Elon Musk took over Twitter, the platform has been plagued with various issues and headaches for users with the implementation of its paywall.
Not only that, legacy verified accounts were also subjected to the paywall which meant users had to subscribe in order to maintain their blue checkmark.
Most recently, users faced issues loading tweets and Musk announced that they were applying temporary limits “to address extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation.”
He initially said verified accounts are limited to reading 6,000 posts a day while unverified accounts are limited to just 600. New unverified accounts are limited to 300 posts a day. This later went up 10,000, 1,000 and 500.
The app however has seemingly returned to normal although it is unclear if the limits are still being applied.
New Kid In Town
Threads uses Instagram’s interface and layout, but is text-based. Users can share photos but the timeline is arranged much like Twitter with the text being the main focus instead of the visuals.
Unlike Twitter, Threads boasts a 500 character limit per post. Twitter maintains its 280 character limit for free accounts while paid subscribers can post up to 10,000 characters.
Videos on Threads can be up to 5 minutes long.
The only downside to Threads so far is that you can only sign into one Threads account per device, unlike Instagram that supports multiple accounts.
There is however the question of vocabulary. With Twitter having been around for more than a decade, it has acquired, albeit not intentional, its own set of vocabulary. It is safe to assume that “tweet” is now a widely accepted verb.
So how will Threads fare in terms of its vocabulary? Suggestions are welcomed.
Threads vocab.
— Farah Harith (@farahharith) July 6, 2023
Twitter: In a Threads post..
Tweet: She said in a Thread…
Tweeted: He Threaded..
ReTweet: ReThread
Tweeps: Threeps
Titfemes: Threatfemes, Thitfemes
😂
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