MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA: The Elon Musk versus Mark Zuckerberg fight has intensified after the Facebook and Meta owner announced the launch of their latest "text-based conversation app" called 'Threads'. As the original microblogging site, Twitter has lately been steeped in controversies. The latest Musk salvo to make the app financially viable involves capping the number of tweets that can be viewed daily.
Unverified accounts will get to read only 600 tweets per day while their verified counterparts with Twitter Blue can read upto 6,000 posts each day. New Twitter users who just joined the platform will be allowed to view only a dismal 300 tweets a day. In addition, TweetDeck is going behind paywall. So, the news of the launch of 'Threads' may come as a breath of fresh air for netizens. The platform is expected to be launched on July 6. Before that, if you want to get a brief idea about the app, continue to read below.
1. Who owns Threads?
Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta is the parent company under which the new “text-based conversation app” will function, just like Meta's other products like Facebook and Instagram. Needless to say, Threads will try to appeal to the Instagram userbase and use it as a springboard to establish its own market. But Threads most direct competition is of course Twitter as it will be challenging the monopoly of the Musk-owned platform in the field of microblogging.
2. When will be Threads be available for download?
‘Instagram’s text-based conversation app’ is available for pre-order on Apple Store. It is also noteworthy that, as of now, the app is now available only for iPhone. Apple Store describes the app thus, “Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow. Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things — or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world.”
Both the Play Store and Apple Store listings show the same screenshots of the app. While the app cannot be downloaded now, the screenshots are already there explaining how the app will work. Threads is expected to launch on July 6, 10 am ET.
3. How will Threads work?
According to TechCrunch, a US-based tech site, ‘Threads’ will be linked with the parent app, Instagram. Once the app is in use, it will import the existing Instagram data including the ‘Followers’ and ‘Following’. The site further revealed that users can connect with their favorite celebrities and creators and discuss trending topics. As per the listing, new users will also be able to build a community of their own if they so wish, with no caps hindering them.
Users will be able to create text-based posts which can be liked, reposted, and shared over the platform. The screenshots from the app stores also show that the users will be able to retain their existing usernames.
4. Will you need to have a separate Threads account?
The users are not required to have a separate account for using ‘Threads’. Metaverse users who are already using Instagram will be easily able to incorporate their photo-sharing account with the new microblogging site. However, while ‘Threads’ will be closely linked with Instagram, the app will function independently and separately from Instagram. The plus point is, users will not required to build a community from scratch as the existing communities will be transferred from Instagram.
5. How will be Threads different from Twitter?
Like Meta’s other services, ‘Threads’ is also expected to be a free social media platform. One of the major reasons for discontent against Twitter is the company’s announcement of bringing the Twitter dashboard TweetDeck behind a paywall within 30 days. But, it is the new rule about capping views that has drawn the most complaints — read any and everyone used to scrolling through Twitter for hours. Musk has said that limit will "soon" increase to 10,000 for verified, 1,000 for unverified and 500 for new unverified but that hasn't soothed angry users. But there will be no such caps on the number of posts a user can view on ‘Threads’.
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