Meta launches Twitter rivals, Zuckerberg takes on Musk with first tweet in 11 years

“There should be a public conversation app with over 1 billion people on it,” Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in a post on Threads Wednesday. “Twitter had a chance to do this, but didn’t get it right. Hopefully we will.”

New Delhi: Even with the proposed “cage fight” between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg still under the clouds, Meta Platforms Inc. officially launched Threads to compete directly with Twitter. Discussions allow users to share text, links, and participate in conversations by replying to or reposting messages from fellow users.

In addition, Threads also allows users to seamlessly transfer their existing follower lists and account names from Instagram, Meta’s popular photo and video sharing platform with a user base of over 2 billion, including renowned brands, celebrities, and content creators.

“There should be a public conversation app with over 1 billion people on it,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post on Threads on Wednesday. “Twitter had a chance to do this, but it didn’t do it right. Hopefully we will.”

The Meta chief also tweeted for the first time in 11 years. Zuckerberg took a swipe at Elon Musk, pitting the iconic Spider-Man against meme on Thursday in a clear reference to Twitter’s replacement rollout. No caption has been added to the post.

pic.twitter.com/MbMxUWiQgp

— Mark Zuckerberg (@finkd) July 6, 2023

According to Connor Hayes, a vice president of product quoted by Mint, many of Instagram’s influential users have asked the company to create a text-based app.

“Creators told us, ‘We want an alternative to what’s out there, and we don’t want to start over and have to build a following from scratch,'” Hayes said without specifically mentioning Twitter, the report said.

Both Instagram and Facebook, which fall under Meta platforms, have built reputations for their track record of emulating products from emerging internet competitors, which has proven remarkably successful. For example, Instagram’s Reels feature was developed as a direct competitor to the popular viral video app TikTok, while the Stories feature was introduced after the rise of Snap Inc.’s Snapchat, which offers disappearing messages.

Facebook and Instagram have both indirectly competed with Twitter by attracting news publishers, politicians and public figures to instead prioritize posts on their platforms. This strategy was designed to grab users’ attention and engagement.

The launch of Threads can be considered a major milestone for Meta, as it marks the company’s first time directly introducing a Twitter-like application, explicitly targeting the functionality and user base of the microblogging giant.

Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October, the company has undergone sweeping changes, including laying off numerous employees, implementing more relaxed content moderation policies, and subjecting users and advertisers to a range of technical issues. .