Mark Zuckerberg has long aspired to unseat Twitter and establish Facebook as the hub of online public discourse. However, Twitter has steadfastly stayed indispensable.
Zuckerberg has not been deterred by this.
His business, Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, teased a brand-new app on July 3 that is directly targeted at Twitter’s market.
On July 6, when it will be introduced, the software, named Threads and linked to Instagram, surfaced in the Apple software Store for people to sign up and download. Users of the app can follow people they already follow on Instagram, and it appears to behave very similarly to Twitter in that it places an emphasis on public interactions. The upcoming programme has been referred to as a “Twitter killer” by some techies.
While Twitter is experiencing new instability, Zuckerberg is on strike. Since Elon Musk acquired the social network last year, he has altered the service by fiddling with Twitter’s algorithm that determines which posts are most visible, removing content moderation guidelines that prohibit particular types of tweets, and reworking a user verification procedure that verifies their identities.
Then, over the weekend, Musk set restrictions on how many tweets app users could view at once. He said that the action was taken in response to other businesses “scraping,” or stealing, Twitter’s data. Users of Twitter were quickly informed by alerts that they had surpassed their “rate limit,” making the programme ineffective after a little period of time browsing posts.
Lou Paskalis, founder and CEO of AJL Advisory, a marketing and advertising technology strategy company, said of Musk and Twitter, “If there’s ever been a more self-destructive owner of a multibillion-dollar enterprise who resents the very customers who determine the success of that enterprise, I am unaware of it.”
The most recent turmoil at Twitter seems to have provided Zuckerberg with a window for Threads.
Since last year, Meta’s leaders have talked about ways to profit on the upheaval at Twitter, including by launching a competing service. One Meta employee reportedly stated in an internal post last year that “Twitter is in crisis and Meta needs its mojo back,” according to a story by The New York Times in December. I say, “LET’S GO FOR THEIR BREAD AND BUTTER.”
As a result, Instagram’s crash project Threads, also known as Project 92 internally, was created. According to screenshots of the software shown in the Apple software Store, users will be able to log into Threads using their Instagram account.
In a not-so-subtle dig at Musk’s unpredictable behaviour, Meta executives have described the app as a “sanely run” variation of a public-facing social network.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by Musk or Twitter. But Threads soon gained popularity online after Musk tweeted a screenshot of the app’s data policy and Jack Dorsey, one of Twitter’s co-founders, replied, “Yeah.”
Requests for response from a Meta representative were not immediately returned.
While dealing with its own difficulties, Meta is launching Threads. The Silicon Valley corporation has made significant investments in its transition to the virtual, immersive metaverse. However, given that the metaverse is not yet widely used, the proposal has been viewed with scepticism.
In recent months, Zuckerberg has also slashed Meta’s budget and debated whether the business is falling behind in the battle for artificial intelligence. He attempted to unite staff in a recent employee meeting by outlining the reasons for the massive layoffs from the previous year and outlining how Meta’s efforts in AI will fit with its plans for the metaverse.
With its substantial resources and a user base of more than three billion people who use Facebook, Instagram, or any of its other apps, Meta continues to be the most genuine rival to Twitter despite these difficulties. Meta dwarfs other sites like Tumblr, Nostr, Spill, Mastodon, and Bluesky that are vying to take advantage of Twitter’s flaws.
Facebook still maintains a sizable user base, despite its fall, according to Paskalis of AJL Advisory. He continued that because of its enormous user base, it is more likely that its imitation apps “will succeed at the expense of Twitter.”
Since years, Facebook and Twitter have competed against one another to snag the most recent online dialogue. Zuckerberg attempted to buy Twitter in its early stages but was rejected. Facebook also made a significant effort to highlight its live products and hot topics in political gatherings and on television prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Since then, Zuckerberg has concentrated efforts on livestreaming video, a strategy that Twitter has also adopted, and trending hashtags to enable users to investigate topics that have gained popularity on Facebook and Instagram.
It’s possible that Mr. Zuckerberg and Musk may square off in the ring.
According to Dana White, the head of the Ultimate Fighting Championship sports organisation, the two men are debating whether to spar in a mixed martial arts contest. Although there is no definite date, the tech billionaires have privately told Mr. White that they are willing to engage in combat, and the general outline of an event is beginning to take shape.