Threads vs. Tweets: Exploring the Key Differences!

In this digital era, how successful is social networking? The dynamic live app – Threads finds its place for this very question.

Threads is Instagram’s new text-based conversation app, launched by the Meta – owner of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp – on July 05, 2023, for posting text-based updates and participating in public discussions in real-time.

On its first day of launch, Meta’s Threads app surpassed a user base of thirty million, according to Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s CEO. Zuckerberg positioned the app as a friendly competitor to Twitter, which was recently acquired by Elon Musk in October 2022. Industry experts suggest that Threads has the potential to appeal to dissatisfied Twitter users following recent platform modifications. Similar to Twitter, Threads enables users to post text messages of up to 500 characters and offers various comparable features.

Threads: Key features and how it is different from Twitter?

Threads, as described by Instagram, is a platform designed to facilitate the gathering of communities to engage in conversations about current and future trends. Like other social media applications, it offers the option to maintain a public or private profile, follow friends, family members, and well-known celebrities, and establish connections within a network.

• Threads, an Instagram app is available for download on both iOS or Android app in their respective stores. Unlike Twitter, which charges $8 per month for verification badge, a verified Instagram user can maintain their blue badge on Threads for free
• Users have the ability to utilize their Instagram login details (Thread users are required to have an Instagram account), which includes their bio and profile picture. Nevertheless, they are also provided with the choice to customize their bio, username, and profile picture in threads. After successfully logging in, users are given the option to follow the same accounts as they do on Instagram
• Meta confirms that text-based posts on Threads can be up to 500 characters long, while unverified Twitter users are restricted to a maximum of 280 characters
• On Threads, users, even those without verification, can share videos up to five minutes long. Meanwhile, unverified Twitter users are limited to videos of two minutes and 20 seconds. With Threads’ extended video duration, users have more creative freedom to captivate their audience with engaging content
• Twitter’s homepage provides users with a glimpse of what’s currently trending and topics that match their interests. On the other hand, exploring the content available on Threads is limited to scrolling through the home feed at the moment
• The app is available in over 100 countries, excluding the European Union. When it comes to activity updates and notifications, Threads provides four tabs for users: All, Mentions, Replies, and Verified. The All tab shows all updates, while Mentions highlights mentions of the user’s account. Replies focuses on replies to the user’s posts, and verified is exclusively for interactions with verified individuals. In contrast, Twitter’s activity updates and notifications have three tabs: All, Mentions, and Verified, with All encompassing all updates, Mentions focusing on account mentions, and verified specifically highlighting interactions with verified users
• As on Thursday, July 6, 2023, unlike Twitter, Threads does not seem to offer a feature for saving drafts of posts

Threads differentiates itself by utilizing the decentralized ActivityPub social-networking protocol. This protocol allows for hosting of accounts and followers on independent servers, giving users more control over their data. It enables users to interact with a wider community beyond Instagram and potentially view posts from other social-media networks supporting the protocol. Connor Hayes, Vice President of Product at Meta, highlights this as one of the compelling aspects of Threads. Meta’s implementation of the ActivityPub protocol aligns with their decentralized approach to platforms like Facebook and Instagram. While there is no specific timeline for ActivityPub integration on Threads, it offers exciting possibilities for user autonomy and network interoperability.

Putting aside considerations of competing features, user base, downloads and competition, it is evident that Threads carries immense potential as a fresh networking app. With users having explored various other applications in the digital landscape, Threads presents an opportunity to curate a more refined and distinctive experience. While not every new app can attain the same level of success, Threads has the potential to revolutionize the scene and emerge as a game-changer in the social media arena.