Have you heard of Threads? There’s a new social media app in town, and based on current sign-ups, it’s looking like it’s going to be big.
According to founder, Mark Zuckerberg, ten million users signed up for Meta's newly launched Threads app in its first seven hours.
“Threads is here. Let’s do this,” said Zuckerberg. Reports are saying that 10 million users signed up in the first few hours. He said on Wednesday in posts on the app and on Facebook: “The goal is to keep it friendly as it expands. I think it’s possible and will 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.”
What is the new Threads social media app?
On its official website, threads is described as, ‘an app built by the Instagram team for sharing with text’.
‘Whether you’re a creator or a casual poster, Threads offers a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations.’
Threads offers many of the features that are built into Instagram to help you filter out the content that you'd rather not see. You can control who can reply to you or mention you in a post, and you can add a word filter so that any posts containing those words don't appear in your feed or in your replies.
What are the differences between Threads and Twitter?
Meta has made several notable announcements regarding its Threads app, setting it apart from Twitter.
- Firstly, Threads will provide users with a character limit of 500, whereas unverified Twitter users are restricted to a maximum of 280 characters. Verified Instagram accounts will retain their blue verification badges on Threads, unlike Twitter, which offers this feature for a monthly fee of £7. Although, Twitter subscribers can expand their character limit to 25,000, an option not currently available on Threads.
- Another distinctive aspect of Threads is its requirement for users to have an Instagram account. During the profile creation process, the app offers an option to import biography information and followers from an existing Instagram profile. This integration with Instagram provides Threads with an advantage by tapping into the extensive user base of the established platform. If you do not have an Instagram account you are redirected to set one up before creating a Threads profile.
- In terms of video content, Threads allows users, including those who are unverified, to share videos up to five minutes long. In contrast, Twitter limits non-verified users to videos with a duration of two minutes and 20 seconds.
- While Twitter's homepage enables users to explore trending topics and other areas of interest, Threads currently relies solely on scrolling through the home feed to discover content.
- One noteworthy feature absent in Threads at its initial launch is the ability to save drafts of posts, a functionality already present on Twitter.
- The threading experience also diverges between the two platforms. Screenshots circulating online indicate that on Threads, users must press the enter key three times to initiate a thread, whereas, on Twitter, this can be accomplished with a simple click on the plus button.
- Meta has indicated it will not monetise Threads this year but left the door open for ads in the future.
- Unlike Twitter, Threads does not offer a separate tab for viewing the likes of other profiles, as depicted in the screenshots.
- Threads adopts the same content rules as Instagram, incorporating similar controls for muting and blocking accounts engaged in harassment.
Connor Hayes, the Vice President of Product at Meta, highlights one of Threads' selling points—the app is built on the ActivityPub social-networking protocol, which is also used by platforms like Mastodon and other decentralised social media apps. Consequently, those who amass followings on Threads will eventually be able to interact with a broader community beyond the confines of Instagram.
What do I think of the Threads app and should law firms adopt it?
If I were to be asked whether law firms should be using Threads, my feedback would be: if your firm is seeing success on Instagram, it would make perfect sense to start using Threads if you have the time and resources to post frequently. The fact the Threads app is integrated with Instagram means many will be easily signing up and a percentage of your existing audience will be there.
According to Statista, in January 2023 Twitter had 556m monthly active users (MAU). Instagram had 2bn! TWO BILLION! So if just 25% of those users sign up for Threads then it instantly becomes as big as Twitter!
You can check out Threads by clicking here.
If you need any support with social media or have any questions about Threads, please get in contact with the team at Conscious on 0117 325 0200 or email us at sales@conscious.co.uk.