Editors note: this article has been edited to reflect a new Thread from Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicating that the total number of users signed up for the new app has reached 30 million, up from the previously reported 10 million.
After months of rumors and speculation, Meta Platforms (META 2.05%) has finally released Threads, its long-awaited rival to Twitter. The latest social media site launched as a companion app to Instagram, Meta's photo-centric platform that boasts more than 2 billion users.
In a post on the newly minted Threads app, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "It'll take some time, but I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it," Zuckerberg wrote. "Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn't nailed it. Hopefully we will." He went on to say that more than 30 million users had signed up for Threads within just seven hours of its launch.
The release of this competing micro-blogging app comes at a tough time for Twitter. The company is struggling with employee rebellion, content moderation issues, user discontent, and declining ad revenue. It also represents a significant opportunity for Meta, which is always looking to expand its social media empire.
Image source: Getty Images.
Like Twitter, but kinder and gentler
Threads launched on Wednesday in more than 100 countries, and users will need an Instagram account to get started. Users can write posts of up to 500 characters, but they can also include photos, links, and videos up to five minutes long. Like many social media sites, users can reply to posts, like them, or share them with others.
Early reports suggest that Threads is very much like Twitter, with a few key differences. Since the social media app is deeply integrated with Instagram, users won't need to start over and can populate Threads with their Instagram followers. Another benefit to the connection is that blocked accounts from Instagram will also carry over, so you won't need to block them again on Threads.
Zuckerberg is positioning Threads as a kinder and gentler alternative to the much-maligned Twitter. "The goal is to keep it friendly as it expands," he wrote, in an apparent dig at the issues of harassment and abuse that have long plagued Twitter. "I think it's possible and will ultimately be the key to its success. That's one reason why Twitter never succeeded as much as I think it should have, and we want to do it differently."
A troubled tenure
Since Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion back in October, he has taken a number of steps that have been unpopular with users. Musk restored accounts long suspended for hate speech and misinformation. He did away with blue checks used to verify the accounts of public figures -- including politicians, celebrities, and journalists -- replacing them with a subscription that charged $8 per month to any user that wanted them. Most recently, Musk imposed temporary caps on the number of posts users could read, citing "extreme levels" of data scraping. Users have criticized each of these steps with many high-profile users ultimately deactivating their accounts.
Perhaps as importantly, Twitter has long struggled to generate consistent ad revenue, an issue that appears to have worsened in recent months. Reports from late last year suggest the company had lost half of its top 100 advertisers since Musk's takeover in October. More recent reports, citing internal documents leaked to the media, suggest that during the five weeks that ended in early May, Twitter's U.S. ad revenue had plunged 59% year over year.
What the move means for Meta
Musk's rocky tenure at Twitter suggests there's an opening that Meta can exploit with its well-timed launch of Threads. While Twitter has long struggled with advertising revenue, that's never been an issue for Meta, though there was a well-documented decline during the recent economic downturn.
In the first quarter, the company said over 3 billion people visited its family of social media apps daily, with more than 3.8 billion checking in monthly. This led to revenue of $28.6 billion, up 3% year over year.
Threads will give Meta Platforms yet another way to increase its advertising revenue. Given the company's long track record of success in that area, Threads might be the fifth pillar of Meta's growing social media empire.
