Featured Image Credit: NurPhoto / Getty Images. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Topics: Mark Zuckerberg, News, Social Media, Technology, Twitter, Threads
Charisa Bossinakis
Topics: Mark Zuckerberg, News, Social Media, Technology, Twitter, Threads
Well, it would seem that Instagram’s Threads is off to a strong start.
After launching yesterday (July 6), the new social media app has seen more than 30 million people sign up in less than 24 hours, according to Mark Zuckerberg.
“Wow, 30 million sign ups as of this morning. Feels like the beginning of something special, but we've got a lot of work ahead to build out the app,” he penned on the app.
The Meta CEO also said Threads would mirror his other social media apps, explaining that the company would continue to build the product while accumulating over one billion followers and then monetising from it.
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The app shares many similarities with Twitter, allowing users to post, share, like and follow other users, with parent company Meta explaining that the app aims to 'take what Instagram does best and expand that to text'.
“Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow,” reads the Thread app description.
“Whatever it is you're interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favourite creators and others who love the same things.”
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, also clarified that users could delete their Threads account without deleting their Instagram account.
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"Threads is powered by Instagram, so right now it’s just one account, but we’re looking into a way to delete your Threads account separately,” he said via the app.
While Threads is in its teething period and more work needs to be done - such as creating an avenue for direct messaging and a feed of only the people a user follows - it’s clearly emerged as a considerable threat to Twitter.
Mosseri said in an interview with The Verge that Twitter’s ‘volatility’ and ‘unpredictability’ under Elon Musk’s leadership offered Meta an opportunity to rival the social media giant.
But Twitter isn’t too happy that the new app is eerily similar.
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In a letter to Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg - obtained by Semafor - a lawyer for Twitter reportedly said that they had 'serious concerns' that Meta had 'engaged in systematic, willful and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property'.
Twitter's lawyer, Alex Spiro, continued: "Twitter intends to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights, and demands that Meta take immediate steps to stop using any Twitter trade secrets or other highly confidential information."
And with that, don’t expect the rivalry between Musk and Zuckerberg to die down anytime soon, as the two have already teased that they will face each other in a one-on-one fight.
It's going to get ugly..