Tweet Threads
Something fascinating is happening in the technology space, influenced by the competition war between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg—Twitter versus Threads.
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In the past few days, Meta CEO, Zuckerberg, has successfully guided the launch of Threads, which is similar to Elon Musk’s Twitter, albeit with some differences.
Threads, at the time of writing, had more than 100 million plus users, achieving more than 30 million users on its debut.
Musk’s takeover of Twitter came with gains and pain for the investor. In fact, in an interview with the BBC, part of which was reported in the April 15 edition of this column, Musk, for the first time, admitted to claims of loss of business when he took ownership of the company.
He said many advertisers had quit Twitter after he made changes to the business model, and that Twitter was “roughly breaking even”.
“All is well that ends well,” Musk said, referencing the pain he had experienced following his interest in Twitter. He bought Twitter for US$44 billion, after a series of boardroom and courtroom drama.
This is the story: Tesla CEO, Musk, in April 2022 triggered twists and turns in the global financial market when he made comments about Twitter. In a Ted talk, Musk claimed that there was the need for Twitter to be more “transparent”, possibly to the point that it would be possible for the social networking platform to “open source” its algorithm and code on Github! He was of the view then that a bid of US$40 billion should suffice to buy Twitter.
Well, the claims by Musk about Twitter generated a lot of interest, especially from financial market analysts and market watchers. Expectedly, at some point, the market value of Twitter- as reflected in the estimated share price- enjoyed some strong appeal because of the words of Musk. In the market, words drive everything.
That frenzy of market interest in Twitter is back, but this time around it is about a rival, many believe, could seriously challenge Twitter in the market. That is Threads.
Threads has the brain of Zuckerberg and the backbone of a company with a wealth of experience in influencing early adoption in the social media space. Zuckerberg is leveraging his strong understanding of “social anthropology”, from the way he revolutionised networking with Facebook, to influence the adoption of Threads.
Threads is a different social media beast. For instance, with Threads, you can automatically connect to your network from Instagram, which is another Meta-owned company.
Zuckerberg is never shy when it comes to business. He has laid down his vision for Threads while pointing out where Twitter has failed. The hostility on Twitter, he said, had caused it to underachieve, and that Threads would be big but friendly. The competition game is certainly on.
Already, tech enthusiasts are raving about the potential of Threads. In a commentary published by the Guardian in the United Kingdom (UK), the writer wrote that “Since Threads is accessed with an Instagram account, people who have a large following on the photo-sharing app are converting that to a large following on Threads. But what works for a visual-based platform doesn’t translate well to a text-based one.
“One of the jokes made about Musk buying Twitter is that he’s the world’s biggest reply guy trying desperately to be a poster. And in Threads, we’re now seeing what happens when influencers also suddenly have to learn how to post. The app already has a whole bunch of inspirational ‘live, laugh, love’-style quotes often found on Instagram.
They look out of place, though, in a text-focused app where the cynical and comedic shine. This will probably change if the non-Instagram-famous posters build followings on Threads, but it’s not a great start,” it said.
So what has been the impact of Threads on Twitter? Well, commentators believe that “there are signs Threads is at least starting to hit Twitter”. “Matthew Prince, the CEO of internet infrastructure company Cloudflare, said that Twitter’s traffic levels have been tanking since the start of this year, with the biggest dip in July. In addition to threatening to sue Meta over
Threads, Musk’s posting through it all is also a sign it’s getting under his skin. After the app was launched, Musk tweeted: “Competition is fine, cheating is not”, the Guardian reported.
The digital revolution is exciting, and the competition between Threads and Twitter will all but add to the fun! At the individual level, you should consider the opportunities and threats that technological advancement has brought to the world and strategically take a position.
Not too long ago, securing the services of a plumber or a carpenter proved a tall order. This was because it wasn’t easy to find the right directory that could point you to the best artisans in your area. Worryingly, you may even have to travel several kilometres- upon recommendation- to find an artisan, when, perhaps, there could be one living just a few minutes away from you.
Today, all you need is a mobile phone or any device that connects well to the internet and at a click, you will find several service providers- carpenters, lawyers, accountants, caterers- to choose from, depending on what you actually want. Going about your daily activities has become a lot easier, thanks to the internet revolution and the general improvement in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) innovation and infrastructure.
The field of business has also experienced tremendous transformation because of the ICT revolution. And remarkably, industries have experienced a whole new set of rules of play. Take the case of the photography industry, for example. Kodak and Polaroid- to mention but just two global brands of yesteryear- were leaders in their time and space.
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These two industries enjoyed good patronage and made good profits in the end because they were the market leaders. The two were market leaders because to have a picture taken, you needed to use their products.
However, the advent of the digital camera chipped away part of their market share, and as more innovations were introduced into the industry, notably the other digital devices and channels that could also perform the functions that they had jealously guarded over the years, bankruptcy set in.
But analysts feel the death of Twitter has been greatly exaggerated since Elon Musk took ownership of the company but the launch of Threads could be the biggest threat to Twitter at present. All the same, Tweets will still have threads on Threads.
botabil@gmail.com
