Meta's Threads and Twitter step into the Apptagon – are you making the switch?

Threads, a new Meta owned social media platform to rival Twitter

(Image credit: Meta)

Threads, an Instagram app developed by Meta is expected to make its launch this Thursday after countdown timers have sprung up as an easter egg on the Instagram app and on the services’ web portal.

Described as an “Instagram for your thoughts,” Threads, known internally as ‘Barcelona’ of Project 92, is a text-only platform and direct competitor to Twitter. The Instagram sister app employs a similar look and feel to that of Twitter, offering a familiar safe haven to those becoming disillusioned with the digital home of Larry the Bird over the last year.

Twitter: Hanging by a Thread?

The news of Meta’s latest social media launch couldn’t come at a worse time for Twitter, as the platform currently scrabbles to solve outages relating to “extreme levels of data scraping.” The issues have pressed Twitter into limiting the number of tweets users can access while the problem is resolved, causing many Twitter power users to consider leaving the troubled site behind.

Well, those users will have the chance to do just that, as this Thursday (July 6, 2023) Zuckerberg’s Threads steps into the App-tagon to battle it out against Musk’s Twitter. Meta is keen to take advantage of Twitter's current issues, with Zuckerberg throwing the first punch long before he and Musk come face-to-face in their potential MMA cage match.

You can currently pre-register for Threads on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Stores, where on the day of release you’ll be able to log in with your current Instagram account and get straight to… Threading? You’ll carry over the same followers from Instagram too, meaning you’ll hit the ground running with an audience already eagerly awaiting your first words on the platform.

Outlook

It seems like every time a Twitter alternative dies, two more spring up to take its place. In spite of what anybody thinks of Elon Musk, the Twitter platform has shown impressive resilience in the face of great changes — and it’s even projected to turn an operating loss of hundreds of millions of dollars into operating at a profit for the first time ever at some point in the near future.

However, where Mastodon may have failed, apps like SkyBlue and Threads could see considerable success and Meta’s text-based social platform could be the blade that finally pierces the weakened carapace of Twitter, leaving it more vulnerable than ever.

Rael Hornby, potentially influenced by far too many LucasArts titles at an early age, once thought he’d grow up to be a mighty pirate. However, after several interventions with close friends and family members, you’re now much more likely to see his name attached to the bylines of tech articles. While not maintaining a double life as an aspiring writer by day and indie game dev by night, you’ll find him sat in a corner somewhere muttering to himself about microtransactions or hunting down promising indie games on Twitter.