Threads, Meta's microblogging site to rival Twitter, launches

Threads, which is expected to be Twitter's biggest competitor, is now open. Instagram Threads application is available to all users. Threads, which is initially available as an application that can be downloaded from the app store, does not have an active website. Therefore, it can only be used on smartphones for now. The starting point of the application in question was Elon Musk's radical changes to Twitter, which led users to start looking for similar alternative text-based social media applications. Meta also took a step in this direction and published the application, which appeared in the codes under the name 'Barcelona' months ago, under the name Threads.

For now, Threads appears to be a sub-app of Instagram and is closely tied to the social media network. Threads doesn't even have its own privacy policy and security and account settings page yet. In order to make changes to the privacy and security policies in Threads, it is necessary to edit them through Instagram. 

On the other hand, Threads is quite similar to Twitter in terms of interface and text-based social networking features. For example, Threads can share text up to 500 characters. In addition, photos and videos can also be shared. 

THREADS SURPASSED 5 MILLION

Threads grew rapidly in the first hours of its launch and the number of users reached hundreds of thousands. The biggest reason for this was undoubtedly its integration with Instagram. Because Instagram users can quickly register to Threads with the same profile information and quickly follow the people they follow on Instagram with one click.

Meta sent invitations to users via Instagram notification saying "X person is using Threads, join". By the way, it is so easy to access Threads on Instagram that when you type 'threads' in the Instagram search bar, a small invitation appears and there is a 'Download Threads' button at the bottom. 

Mark Zuckerberg, the owner of Meta, announced that 5 million accounts were created in just the first four hours of Threads' launch. 

FIRST POST ON THREADS BY ZUCKERBERG

According to The Verge, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the first post on Threads. Zuckerberg posted, "Threads is here. Let's do this." Zuckerberg posted. 

'TWITTER KILLER' 

Threads is called the 'Twitter killer'. This is because Instagram has 2 billion users worldwide, and for this reason, it is said that the number of Threads users will increase rapidly, and being connected to Instagram is a great advantage.

However, according to the data obtained by Demand Sage, Twitter has approximately 400 million users. 

NOT AVAILABLE IN EUROPE

Threads is currently available in more than 100 countries, including Türkiye, but not in the European Union. This is because the European Union has strict regulations on user data, and Meta has not yet made the app available in EU countries because they have not yet been able to meet these requirements. 

Threads, which can be seen as a sub-app of Instagram, has also been criticized for the amount and types of data it collects.

On the other hand, Meta announced that the app is still in its early stages and that new features will come in the future.

In the meantime, there are some platforms such as Bluesky and Mastodon as alternatives to Twitter. For example, Mastodon was one of the first platforms shown as an alternative to Twitter. Bluesky, on the other hand, was founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. However, the biggest advantage of Threads is that it is connected to Instagram, one of the world's largest social media networks. 

Source: BBC, The Verge

Compiled by: Hilal Bardakci / turkiyegazetesi.com.tr