Twitter And Threads: Clash Of The Titans

Twitter And Threads: Clash Of The Titans – In an era where social media is constantly evolving, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has launched Threads. Positioned as a direct competitor to Twitter, Threads offers a unique take on microblogging and online conversations, combining elements of traditional posts, text and multimedia.

The Main differences between Threads and Twitter

1- Up till now, there are no hashtags on Threads

Maybe this is what Mark Zuckerberg meant by replying to Mark Cuban: “The goal is to keep it (Threads) friendly as it expands”? Not having hashtags and keywords, will lead to the second difference which is the Trending Topics.

2- Threads does not have Trending Topics

Over the years, Twitter positioned itself as a platform that complements and enhances the field of journalism. Twitter recognizes its role as a facilitator of real-time information sharing and has become a valuable resource for journalists, news organizations, and media professionals worldwide. Till now Threads mission or vision are unknown, but we believe soon it will find itself a specific positioning versus Twitter.

3- Direct Messaging

Another major difference is: accounts cannot send direct messages to other accounts on Threads.

4- The Name of the Threads Account

The account name is linked to your Instagram account. So, the user is not able to change his or her account name from Threads app.

5- The account on Threads App is linked to the account on Instagram App

And vice versa. If users set their account as public profile on Threads, you can directly check their related Instagram account by clicking on Instagram icon on the top right corner of the profile page. This is not the case on Twitter. Till now an account on Twitter is not linked to any other app.

6- The Search Feature

Up till now, you can ONLY search for users on Threads. You cannot search for posts or specific keywords. Which is not the case on Twitter. But this feature might be updated very soon. We believe Zuckerberg will have to update it if he wants to scale up the app.

7- Pictures’ Attachment

On Twitter you can only attach up to 4 pictures with a given Tweet. While on Threads you can attach up to 10 pictures with 1 post.

Brand Cannibalization?

People are spending now less time on Instagram and more time on Threads. This has been observed with many users during the first day of using the new app. So the big question is: will Threads decrease the number of Twitter users? Well, we need time to see the updates on the app and how Meta will manage it. Nevertheless, we don’t believe it will be the case. There is a market segment (especially in the United States) who simply hates Elon Musk and consider him as a conservative fueling up the right-wing argumentation against the left libs. Will this segment shift to Threads and completely abandon Twitter? What about Europe and the rest of the world?

What Kind of Conversations Will Threads Evoque?

This is another big question that will set the major differences in the positioning between Twitter and Threads. If Threads will be exactly like Instagram but with text, then it won’t pose any risk for Twitter. As Elon Musk said: “It is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter, than indulge in the false happiness of hide-the-pain Instagram.” And that really summarizes the differences in ideologies between the two platforms and between the two owners. If Threads will be this utopian, escape-from-reality platform, then it won’t affect Twitter at all, but it might affect Instagram.

A battle is unfolding between Twitter and Threads. As we have explored the main differences between the platforms, it becomes evident that Twitter and Threads offer users unique microblogging experiences. But we need to give it more time to see the competitive advantage of Threads.

There is 1 issue that is causing concern with Threads users at the moment. It’s the ability to delete the account. According to the Help platform of Meta, you can only deactivate your account on Threads which will hide it and no one will be able to see it. But it won’t be deleted. In order to delete it, the user must delete his or her Instagram account.