10 million users sign up for Twitter rival Threads in first few hours
BOSTON - Meta's answer to Twitter has arrived.
The new app "Threads," created by the team behind Facebook, including Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, can only be used if you already have an Instagram account. It's already skyrocketing into the micro-blogging metaverse.
"It's more reliable, we think, than Twitter has been since Elon Musk took over," said Boston University Associate Professor of Media Science Traci Hong.
The app's interface is identical to Twitter and is quickly becoming its direct competitor, garnering 10 million users in its first seven hours.
"This could be explosive," said Hong.
The app is packaged with Instagram, forcing users to download one in order to access the other, attracting the younger Instagram demographic to the text based platform.
"It grows your base no matter what," said Hong, who explained the packaged deal means Zuckerberg, who's been questioned for Meta's monopoly potential in the past, may be keeping clear of Congress.
"It's an app within Instagram, so they can make the argument that we're not creating a new app, we're not dominating social media space. That was a really good way to get around congressional oversight," said Hong.
After Elon Musk's promise to purchase Twitter was realized, Hong said the question for Threads users will come down to trust.
"We're just coming off a pandemic, we're on the cusp of a presidential election, there has been a lot of disinformation. They need a reliable social platform," said Hong.