A new social network promises to shake up the digital world: Threads, launched by Meta last Wednesday (5), has already gained 10 million users in less than a day and has become one of Twitter’s main competitors.

Threads is a text sharing platform that allows users to import their Instagram follower lists and interact with features such as liking, commenting, and reposting. The social network also displays a character counter when the user writes a new message, just like Twitter.

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The Internet has allowed the world to create a galaxy of connections. Canadian Marshal McLuhan in 1962 shook up communication theory when he coined the famous phrase, “the medium is the message.” McLuhan emphasized that the medium is more important than the content, as it shapes the receiver’s perception and interpretation.

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Clearly the inspiration for the new social network is the little bluebird, but Threads is also based on other text-centric platforms, such as Bluesky and Mastodon.

According to Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, the goal of Threads is “to build a space for civil and open dialogue”.

Twitter and freedom of expression

Shortly after Twitter announced a temporary limit on reading posts, which mostly affects unverified accounts, Threads was revealed. Under the new rule, verified accounts will be able to view up to 6,000 posts per day, while unverified accounts will only be able to view 600.

The move drew criticism from many users, who accused Twitter of restricting free speech and favoring elites. Some have even migrated to Threads, looking for a more democratic and inclusive alternative.

Goal strategy

Pinar Yildirim, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania, says Zuckerberg is using a strategy to make his newly launched app grow rapidly, pitching it as an offshoot of Instagram, which is “the Meta family’s most successful product.” “.

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With more than two billion active users, Instagram gives Threads an edge that major Twitter competitors like Mastodon and Bluesky, or conservative favorites like Truth Social, Speak, Gettr and Gab, don’t have. . Users will be able to create their Threads account using their Instagram profile and immediately post content to the new platform.

The equation is simple: if an Instagram user with a large following like Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber, or Lionel Messi starts posting regularly on Threads, the new platform can grow quickly, and I expect advertising budgets will follow suit. short term.

Brian Wieser, analyst at Substack

Zuckerberg’s nudges

“Let’s go. Welcome to Threads,” Zuckerberg wrote, in his account on the new platform. Shortly after, he announced that “10 million people signed up in seven hours.”

After years of not writing anything on Twitter, Zuckerberg posted the Spider-Man meme, in an apparent allusion to the similarities between the two social networks.

It’s going to take time, but I think there should be a public chat app with over a billion people. Twitter had the opportunity to do that, but it didn’t. I hope we will get there.

Zuckerberg’s post on Threads

The platform appears, in the App Store, as “Instagram’s text-based social networking app”, a presentation which, added to the images, looks a lot like Twitter.

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It’s still too early to know if Threads can cement itself as one of the biggest social networks in the world, but one thing is certain: it’s already making waves.

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