Posted on Jul 7, 2023
Is Threads really a 'Twitter killer'? Here's what we know so far
205
8
3
5
5
0
https://www.npr.org/2023/07/06/ [login to see] /threads-twitter-instagram-musk-zuckerberg
Another day, another new app promising to replace Twitter.
The hierarchy of text-based social media platforms started looking shaky as soon as Elon Musk took over Twitter last year, and it's only grown more unstable as he continues rolling out abrupt and unpopular changes on the platform.
That has sparked a host of challengers vying for Twitter's beloved throne, the latest of which is Threads, which was unveiled late Wednesday by Meta, the parent company behind Facebook.
Threads already appears to have a leg up on other Twitter competitors, gaining 30 million users in less than 24 hours.
But could it go all the way, banging the final nail in Twitter's coffin? It may not be so simple.
Another day, another new app promising to replace Twitter.
The hierarchy of text-based social media platforms started looking shaky as soon as Elon Musk took over Twitter last year, and it's only grown more unstable as he continues rolling out abrupt and unpopular changes on the platform.
That has sparked a host of challengers vying for Twitter's beloved throne, the latest of which is Threads, which was unveiled late Wednesday by Meta, the parent company behind Facebook.
Threads already appears to have a leg up on other Twitter competitors, gaining 30 million users in less than 24 hours.
But could it go all the way, banging the final nail in Twitter's coffin? It may not be so simple.
Is Threads really a 'Twitter killer'? Here's what we know so far
Posted from npr.org
Facebook
Social Media
Posted 11 mo ago
Responses: 2
2
2
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
Lt Col Charlie Brown I see "Meta" having a Good Chance since Musk has Made Twitter a Haven for Hate Mongers!
(0)
(0)
1
1
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Can Threads recreate Twitter's role as the public square?
In some of his earliest missives on the platform, Zuckerberg said he was focused on making Threads "a friendly place," adding that that would "ultimately be the key to its success."
"That's one reason why Twitter never succeeded as much as I think it should have, and we want to do it differently," he wrote.
Tech junkies might counter that Zuckerberg has played (and lost) this game before. He tried to replicate the ephemerality of Snapchat with Facebook's Stories feature, or the compulsive scroll of TikTok with Instagram's Reels. Neither feature successfully bested out the competition.
When it comes to getting users in the habit of posting on Threads, one of the app's biggest weaknesses may be the very thing that might make the launch a success: the strength of the Meta brand.
Tech analyst Faine Greenwood of Tarentum Consulting calls it the "terrible uncle problem."
"The terrible uncle problem is the issue that comes about when all of your relatives, your colleagues, your high school classmates are able to find you on social media," Greenwood told NPR's Bobby Allyn on NPR's Morning Edition. "Younger people, especially, are turned off a platform where they feel like they have to censor what they're saying."
She added, "They don't want to have to deal with literally everybody they know" being in their social spaces.
Correction
July 6, 2023
An earlier version of this story said that Threads had gained 30 million users as of midday Tuesday. In fact, the app had gained 30 million users as of midday Thursday."
..."Can Threads recreate Twitter's role as the public square?
In some of his earliest missives on the platform, Zuckerberg said he was focused on making Threads "a friendly place," adding that that would "ultimately be the key to its success."
"That's one reason why Twitter never succeeded as much as I think it should have, and we want to do it differently," he wrote.
Tech junkies might counter that Zuckerberg has played (and lost) this game before. He tried to replicate the ephemerality of Snapchat with Facebook's Stories feature, or the compulsive scroll of TikTok with Instagram's Reels. Neither feature successfully bested out the competition.
When it comes to getting users in the habit of posting on Threads, one of the app's biggest weaknesses may be the very thing that might make the launch a success: the strength of the Meta brand.
Tech analyst Faine Greenwood of Tarentum Consulting calls it the "terrible uncle problem."
"The terrible uncle problem is the issue that comes about when all of your relatives, your colleagues, your high school classmates are able to find you on social media," Greenwood told NPR's Bobby Allyn on NPR's Morning Edition. "Younger people, especially, are turned off a platform where they feel like they have to censor what they're saying."
She added, "They don't want to have to deal with literally everybody they know" being in their social spaces.
Correction
July 6, 2023
An earlier version of this story said that Threads had gained 30 million users as of midday Tuesday. In fact, the app had gained 30 million users as of midday Thursday."
(1)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google