Meta Threads; Facebook owners set to release Twitter rival app as Musk continues to “ruin” platform

Elon Musk might want to rethink some of his strategies with Twitter after his recent moves to limit the amount of posts accounts can read in one sitting over fears of “data scraping,” while also ensuring companies like Tweetdeck are now effectively charging for use of their services - almost spelling an end to smaller businesses relying to scheduled posting and third party tools.

Though he may have (just) survived a number of users leaving Twitter for Mastodon, he might have more trouble on his hands as Meta, the owners of Facebook and Instagram, have announced they will be launching a microblogging contender later this week. Meta Threads was first spotted when it became available for pre-order on mobile app stores for both iPhone and Android operating systems; listed as "Threads, an Instagram app," the service is expected to be released by July 6 2023.

Meta Threads is set to be a new text-based conversation app developed by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. It is described as an Instagram app and is intended to compete with Twitter. The app allows users to connect with their favourite creators and engage in discussions about various topics.

The description of Meta Threads on its respective app pages reads “Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow. Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favourite creators and others who love the same things – or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world.”

The launch of Threads is part of Meta's efforts to create a new social network that can potentially compete with Twitter, with the description of the app suggests that Meta aims to provide a decentralised and independent platform for sharing written messages in real time. 

Without the need to pay for a verified account, without the limit to how many posts can be read in one day, and with the ease it would seem of logging in or signing up with the same details as one would for Facebook or Instagram.

Talk of Meta creating a rival to Twitter arose back in April this year, when a spokesperson for the company told Platformer “we’re exploring a standalone decentralised social network for sharing text updates. We believe there’s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.” 

But after that announcement, no one expected the concept to be ready at this stage, throwing further doubts now about if Twitter could survive another potential exodus to another platform, especially with the unpopular changes Elon Musk has implemented since taking over the company in October 2022.