This could ensure that Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk may one day end up in a cage match.
Zuckerberg’s Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is set to release a new app called Threads in an attempt to compete with Musk’s Twitter.
Threads is a text-based social media app that is designed to be more personal and intimate than Twitter. It will allow users to share photos, videos, and stories with a select group of friends. Threads will also integrate with Instagram, so users can easily share their posts on both platforms.
Users will be able to use their Instagram accounts to log in to the new app, which self-describes on the App Store as “Instagram’s text-based conversation app” to “discuss everything from the topics you care about today.”
Meta is hoping that Threads will appeal to users who are looking for a more private and secure way to communicate. The app will not have ads, and it will be designed to protect users’ privacy.
A Twitter employee wrote in an internal post that “Twitter is in crisis and Meta needs its mojo back,” according to a December 2022 report by The New York Times. The employee added, “LET’S GO FOR THEIR BREAD AND BUTTER.”
The release of Threads comes at a time when Twitter is facing increasing competition from other social media platforms. In recent years, Facebook has been adding new features to its own platform in an attempt to attract Twitter users. And now, with the release of Threads, Meta is hoping to give Twitter a run for its money.
Since Musk took over Twitter in October 2022, the company has faced a bucket of controversies over significant cuts to its workforce, changes to its “blue check” verification process, and loosening moderation rules. The company also gained public attention following Musk’s decision to release the “Twitter Files” to several journalists, including Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss.
There are two main reasons why Mark Zuckerberg may have decided to take on Elon Musk with the Threads app https://t.co/l8H2A3vP1K
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) July 4, 2023
