Despite having only launched on the Apple iOS platform on Thursday, the app has already been downloaded over 30 million times in the first 24 hours – apparently making it the most rapidly downloaded app so far.
What has been dubbed by some commentators as the ‘Twitter Killer’ we took a look at the platform for ourselves and posted our own ‘Thread’.
The first impression is that it’s ticking all the right boxes – seamless sign-up via Instagram account and a simple clean profile and interface. It’s got a 500-character limit on posts and includes links, photos – images are posted as an attachment and videos of up to approx 5mins.
Our Digital Marketing & Outreach Executive – Rosie Snooke has been having a closer look at the app and has kindly shares her early assessment:
“Threads is rapidly gaining popularity, with big brands such as Aldi and Netflix already active on the platform. The app seems set apart by the way it has introduced a refreshing stream of unfiltered thoughts and updates, particularly in these early days. Compared to Instagram where posts are more meticulously curated, Threads offers users a more spontaneous and authentic experience and seamlessly blends public and private spaces with its highly interactive and conversational nature.”
Why does this matter?
The new platform is expected to be far more rigorous in its privacy and safety and community protocols (unlike Twitter) and anyone under 16 is defaulted to a private profile.
The content feed does seem a little chaotic – but it’s early days and given its Meta, there will be a lot of investment in getting this to work. Meta has already announced that they intend to make Threads compatible with other social networks e.g ActivityPub which enables interoperability protocols with Mastadon and WordPress.
In an indication of how Twitter has been rattled – the beleaguered platform has already threatened to sue Meta for violating Twitter’s “intellectual property rights”.
Meta has also announced that they intend to add new features in the coming weeks including a Search function – this is definitely one to watch!
Cover story image courtesy of Meta
Author spike.digital