Meta Threads has emerged as a formidable contender to Twitter, posing one of its biggest challenges yet. Amidst Twitter's painful period under the unconventional leadership of CEO Elon Musk, Meta Threads entered the scene with great enthusiasm, amassing millions of subscribers within hours of its launch.

Mark Zuckerberg, on Wednesday, introduced Threads, a new microblogging platform promoted by Meta as Instagram's "text-based conversation app." The platform quickly gained a substantial user base, attracting millions of users in its initial seven hours. This development comes as Twitter grapples with chaotic decisions made by its maverick owner, Elon Musk. Zuckerberg claimed that Threads accumulated as many as 10 million subscribers within its first seven hours, attracting prominent personalities like Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, and Democratic US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

While only time will determine Threads' true potential as a competitor to Twitter, here are some essential details about the platform:

1. Twitter-like Features:

Threads can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in over 100 countries. It functions as a text-based social messaging app, allowing users to share short messages that others can like, share, and comment on. Posts can be up to 500 characters long and can include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length. In a playful dig at the rivalry between Zuckerberg and Musk, Zuckerberg even took to Twitter, sharing a meme featuring Spiderman facing off against Spiderman.

2. Built on the Instagram Network:

Threads is built upon the Instagram network, enabling users to reuse their Instagram usernames with a few simple taps and automatically follow the same individuals they already follow on Instagram. However, Meta also offers the ability to customize Threads profiles. Analysts suggest that Threads' connection to Instagram could provide it with an existing user base and advertising infrastructure, potentially diverting ad revenue from Twitter at a time when the latter is striving to revive its struggling business.

3. Fediverse for Cross-Platform Interactions:

Threads will incorporate a novel feature called Fediverse, enabling users to interact with individuals from alternative microblogging platforms such as Mastodon. As described on Instagram's website, fediverse is "a social network of different servers operated by third parties that are connected and can communicate with each other... Our vision is that Threads will enable you to communicate with people on other fediverse platforms we don't own or control."

4. Twitter's Defensive Stance:

The arrival of Threads follows a series of exchanges between Zuckerberg and Musk, including playful threats of a real-life mixed martial arts match in Las Vegas, which was ultimately "cancelled" due to Musk's mother intervening. Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October last year, but the platform's value has since declined due to substantial staff reductions and controversies surrounding content moderation, alienating both users and advertisers. Twitter's recent move to limit the number of tweets users can read per day received significant backlash. It is within this context that Threads aims to gain traction in the market.

5. Privacy Concerns:

Despite the promise Threads holds and its strategic timing, the platform has already sparked controversy regarding its privacy policy. The official listing on the Apple App Store reveals that Meta's Threads may collect a wide range of data, including health, fitness, finances, contacts, browsing history, usage, location, search history, identifiers, and other sensitive information. Will it be tough for this app to sustain for longer in a market like India where we have seen apps gettting banned because of their privacy regulations? Time will tell.

To all Questers! How important do you think this new app is going to be for brands like iQOO? How can it be used for promoting and growing the community? Do drop your thoughts and comments below!

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Signing off,

VaderBhaiya