Threads Vs. Twitter: Who Will Draw First?
After months of speculation, Meta's new social platform Threads is finally set to launch this Thursday, July 6th - just days after Twitter experienced yet another rate limit outbreak. Developed as a centralized and data-harvesting microblogging app, this isn't just any ordinary platform; it is deeply intertwined with Instagram, with it already having been available for pre-order on the App Store. To mark the awaited launch, Meta has also created a dedicated website to track the days left until the launch of Threads. Now that the date is close at hand, a renewed wave of excitement has hit tech and social media enthusiasts alike.
Despite the advantageous moment of its premiere, there seems to be very little traction for the app judging by the reactions of Twitter's open crypto community. Questions over outdated data, security and sustainability of the program have circulated. When spoken to, Tiffany Fong, a crypto name widely known on Twitter with 66.6K followers confessed her unawareness of the Threads application, asserting, “I am oblivious to the Meta alternative.” Even on her Instagram page, she has no more than 10.4K subscribers. Moreover, a Twitter poll held by speculated “Bitcoin and crypto OG”, Kyle Chassé has communicated in a sample size of 125 participants, 87% prefer “Team Twitter” to “Team Meta”. Finally, former CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, also mentioned the Terms of Service of Threads app, which implies that the designers of Threads, Instagram would receive extensive customer data, including financial tracking and identifiers.
Nick St. Pierre, A.I. developer with a background in the platform, commented on the uncertainty surrounding Twitter's release of Threads shortly after the notorious rate limit fiasco. He was perturbed, with valid reasoning that this new launch could end up going the same way as Direct or its former app, Threads. According to St. Pierre, the “pattern” for previous products was "release standalone app for attention, shut them down, then roll the features into [Instagram]." This viewpoint voiced by the developer echoed the concerns of other researchers, and it appears the public opinion may also lean toward a wariness surrounding the releases made by the company.
Threads is embracing the concept of decentralized social networks, jumping on ActivityPub, the standard which powers Mastodon - a Twitter competitor. Apparently, they plan to leverage a user's existing followers and those they follow, eliminating the need to start from scratch. It's quite remarkable since, due to Twitter's limitations, Mastodon saw a huge surge in usage lately. The rep for the business also mentioned that this solo-platform on Threads is highly dependent on ActivityPub.
