Elon Musk’s reign as CEO of Twitter has started a ripple effect of emerging competitors, with Facebook parent company Meta being the most recent to enter the space.
Meta launched its Twitter competitor, Threads this week and the platform has already gained 100 million sign-ups, according to CNN.
Notable Thread users just entering the platform include household name-brands, celebrities and journalists amongst others.
Last week we dove deep into the tea on Spill, a Black-owned Twitter competitor that hit No.1 in the Apple App Store, despite the fact of it being an invite-only platform at this time.
Spill was founded by the ex-Twitter employees Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell and DeVaris Brown, who are building a social platform that puts the safety of marginalized communities first. This founding mission played a huge role in users, primarily from Black Twitter entering the platform after Elon Musk announced a Tweet viewership limit.
Meta’s Threads platform on the other hand was not founded with an intent to center marginalized communities, but it is intended “to create an option and friendly public space for conversation,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a CNN report. “We hope to take what Instagram does best and create a new experience around text, ideas, and discussing what’s on your mind,” Zuckerburg continued.
Both platforms are seemingly addressing the concerns faced by current Twitter users navigating sudden changes made by Musk. Users are craving platforms that center around conversation, but that prioritizes “friendly conversation.”
While some critics fear that joining Threads will risk personal data sharing, others are viewing the platform as a new terrain to grow their digital identities on.
As I navigated the Threads app I found it very comforting considering its layout is identical to Twitter. I enjoyed the process of being able to claim my Instagram username on Threads, taking a huge step out of the sign-up process.
Right now, my Threads feed contains a mixture of tech news (as usual) and content from accounts I’ve hardly interacted with on Instagram, which makes me wonder if the Threads algorithm is able to pick up on the accounts I favor on IG.
Keeping it gee, both Spill and Threads have been fun to explore as one of the preliminary users navigating the platforms. Twitter has always felt like a space for me to excel as a career professional rather than solely for amusement. I look forward to seeing if I (and the millions of others) exploring these new platforms will make them popular enough to sustain longevity on the market.
Miranda Perez (she/her/hers) is a Jersey City, NJ-based journalist who covers the tech industry. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @mimithegee.
Edited by NaTyshca Pickett