Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Are you wondering what Threads is and what it has to do with Twitter? We’re here to help.
Twitter was already getting to be a mess under Elon Musk, and while there are some alternative social media sites to use, users are still on there and rightfully complaining about “rate limits” and such.
Meta — the company that owns Facebook — is hoping to capture that frustrated audience, reportedly this week.
Meet Threads, the rival social media app. What’s it all about? Let’s dive in:
Threads?
Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
Threads!
Meta is apparently rolling out the app Mark Zuckerberg hopes to use to compete with Twitter.
What's it like?
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, file)
Hard to say at the moment. But we do know that it uses Instagram to find fellow users and the idea is to be like Twitter and have conversations in real time.
There is a reason why Instagram's Threads is launching on July 6 2023…
Twitter's struggling, plagued by rate limiting, user complaints
Zuck's proven tactic: Strike competitors at their weakest
Worked on TikTok, made Reels a $1B+ biz
It's the Zuckerberg Jugular Strategy… pic.twitter.com/8YFRTQBmwm
— GREG ISENBERG (@gregisenberg) July 4, 2023
When can I get it?
AFP PHOTO / LEON NEALLEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images 522835057
Thanks to an Easter Egg in Instagram, we know this: Thursday, July 6!
Instagram Threads Easter Egg 🎟️
Search for ‘threads’ in-app and tap the red ticket 🎟️ to reveal your personal Threads invite countdown pic.twitter.com/X9CBz9kOaj
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) July 4, 2023
Looks like Instagram has included an Threads easter egg in their app
Search ‘threads’ in the app and tap the red ticket 🎟️ that pops up to show your personal Threads invite countdown pic.twitter.com/mu2WosjOSg
— JaValle (@JaValle) July 4, 2023
It’s also listed in the App Store and in Google Play.
Is this really going to take down Twitter?
(AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, Stephan Savoia)
In a figurative cage match againt Elon Musk? We’ll see. It depends on how good this thing is for users and how popular it gets. But given the way Twitter users are getting turned off to that site with changes that are damaging it, there’s room for a competitor.
