Understanding Threads: The Latest Buzz on Instagram
Since its initial release on July 6, 2023, Threads has become a trending term, gaining even more popularity with over 7 million users registered on this new social network. In less than two hours, Threads secured its position as the app with over a million users, breaking the record previously held by ChatGP.
During this surge in popularity, Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, proudly stated, “Threads, the social network that garnered 10 million active users within the first 7 hours.”
Meanwhile, Twitter’s CEO, Elon Musk, hinted at legal action against Meta, accusing them of using Twitter’s trade secrets to create Threads. He stated, “It is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter than to indulge in the false happiness that hides the pain of Instagram.” This marked a controversial thread on July 6, 2023, likely to spark debates throughout the following months.
This unfolding scenario has piqued users’ curiosity about the digital impact of Threads. You’ve probably seen it on countless stories from your followers and brands, capturing the moment they created their first thread and shared it on Instagram. It’s been quite a frenzy! Now, let’s set aside the controversy and tension among these tech moguls and delve into what Threads is all about.
Exploring Threads in the Technological Landscape
In the realm of technology and programming, threads are basic units of execution within a system. They are small subsets capable of independently performing tasks. The primary purpose of threads is to enhance the efficiency and responsiveness of applications.
Threads are favored for applications requiring high interactivity, such as Twitter or Threads. However, it’s worth noting that working with threads may pose challenges, including synchronization and communication issues, which must be addressed to ensure the proper functioning of multi-threaded platforms.
Over time, numerous improvements and optimizations have been made in thread management, leading companies to incorporate them into their operations.
The Genesis of Threads: A Microblogging Social Network
Threads, a microblogging social network for short messages, was created by Meta and is integrated into Instagram. This social platform is available for download on the Apple App and Google Play stores in over 100 countries.
On Threads, you can create and respond to threads, following accounts and engaging in internet conversations. Threads may include various elements like short texts, links, images, or videos. In essence, it’s a platform where the audience can engage in real-time public conversations.
The creation of Threads was guided by the idea of building an open and friendly space for communities, as expressed by Adam Mosseri, the director of Instagram. Meta and Instagram aim for Threads to function seamlessly across multiple applications, attracting content creators who want to open new accounts and start from scratch in terms of followers.
Threads serves as a space where audiences can discuss trending and interesting topics, following and connecting with content creators and public figures.
Navigating Threads: How It Works
In this social network, you can create posts with text up to 500 characters, accompanied by images or videos. The unique aspect is that you can share these posts on your Instagram profile, fostering significant interaction with the Instagram community.
Upon downloading the application, you’ll feel like you’re entering a metaverse, immediately transported to an accessible and user-friendly platform where you can link your Instagram profile data and personalize it. Additionally, you can configure the privacy of your profile and have the same followers as on Instagram.
Your Instagram followers with Threads profiles can view and comment on your threads in the feed, the content stream you can scroll through. Threads uses your Instagram account data, including your name, Instagram username, account identifier, followers, and accounts you follow on Instagram. Your Threads profile will display a link to your Threads account.
What Threads Promises and Its Unique Features
Threads distinguishes itself from other social networks by not being centralized, allowing users to remain open to multiple platforms. A crucial feature Threads emphasizes is the ability for users to view feed posts in chronological order, similar to Instagram and Facebook, a feature absent on Twitter.
Meta states, “Our plan is for Threads to become part of the fediverse (an ecosystem of social platforms with a shared philosophy), a social network of different servers administered by third parties that are connected and can communicate with each other.”
Starting a thread on Threads is straightforward—write something, and it appears on your profile. However, consider the following:
- If someone responds to your thread, and you decide to delete the thread, their response won’t be deleted. Hence, configuring your account’s privacy is essential.
- If there is a private profile you don’t follow, and you respond to their thread, you won’t be able to see their response.
- Threads posts are subject to Meta’s policies, especially regarding the use of musical content.
- For brand content, Threads lacks the same tools as Instagram, so make sure to specify in the post or promotion that it’s a paid collaboration.
- Threads is only available for smartphones; there’s no desktop version yet. The only function accessible from the web is viewing your followers’ profiles and checking their posts.
Threads vs. Twitter: Similarities and Differences
While I recently joined this platform and, like many of you, am exploring its features, experts in social media have identified some similarities and differences:
Similarities
- Navigation and interface: Users can post text and multimedia messages in a dropdown channel.
- Display of other profiles’ statuses.
- Responding to a status in thread format.
- Similar icons for Like, Share, Send, and Reply buttons.
Differences
- Threads allow 500 characters, surpassing Twitter’s limit of 280.
- Threads do not support direct messaging.
- Despite being an independent app, Threads can be directly linked to an Instagram account.
- Twitter has multiple tabs in its navigation, like For You and Following, while Threads only has one.
Examining the Downsides of Threads
Despite its potential, Threads has its drawbacks:
- Only one news feed.
- Some regions faced difficulties downloading it on its launch day.
- Not available in Europe.
- Lacks hashtags and tags.
- No option to edit recently posted messages.
While some tech experts may refer to this application as Twitter’s rival, it’s more of a rivalry between the CEOs of each company, causing controversy in the media and the digital universe. It might indeed become the future competitor of Twitter (explaining Elon Musk’s discontent).
Determining Optimal Thread Quantity: Striking a Balance
From a business and brand perspective, Threads could be useful for interacting with new clients, building communities, providing products/services, and monitoring the competition. However, considering its recent launch, providing strategies or actions to strengthen your business on this app might be premature, as it could be just a trend.
Synchronization can be costly in terms of performance, as constant communication and data flow among threads may cause overload and block the process. Currently, a Wall Street Journal study revealed a 70% decline in daily active users on this new social network. Platform usage time has decreased, and the app has experienced inactivity.
These factors prompted Instagram executives to announce upcoming new features. Therefore, discussing a strategy for this