Meta takes aim at Twitter with Threads app, millions join

New York, July 6 (BNA): Meta Platforms (META.O) launched a live Twitter challenge using threads, attracting millions of users in a matter of hours as it sought to capitalize on its competitor’s very weak state after a string of messy decisions from owner Elon Musk.


Among those who rushed to join the new platform were celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez, as well as prominent politicians such as US Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, according to Reuters.


“Let’s do this. Welcome to Thread,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in his first post on the app, along with a fire emoji. He said the app recorded 10 million subscriptions in seven hours.

He also took to Twitter, posting a well-known meme of Spider-Man versus Spider-Man — in a humorous jab at Musk’s rivalry between the two services.

Analysts said Instagram’s leads could give it a combined user base and advertising rig. That could siphon advertising dollars from Twitter as a new CEO tries to revive its ailing business.

While Themes launches as a standalone app, users can log in with their Instagram credentials and follow the same accounts, making it an easy addition to the existing habits of Instagram’s more than 2 billion monthly active users.

Others saw launching threads as an opportunity to create a less toxic version of Twitter.

Much like Twitter, the app features short text posts that users can like, repost, and reply to, though it doesn’t include any direct message capabilities. Posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, images and videos up to five minutes long, according to the Meta blog.

The blog said it is available in more than 100 countries on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Meta stock closed up 3% on Wednesday before the launch, eclipsing gains made by rival tech companies.

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