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Mark Zuckerberg’s rival for Twitter received mixed reactions today after more than 10 million users signed up for the app.
Social media erupted with memes slamming the Facebook boss’s new app Threads, which went live in the UK at midnight and allows users to post up to 500 characters of text, five minutes of video and photos.
Twitter users complained about “bugs” and the “lack of basic features” on Threads, with some sharing funny GIFs that said people would “run back to Twitter” after trying it.
Zuckerberg had posted on the app today, proudly proclaiming, “Just passed 5 million signups in the first four hours.”
He previously said, “I think there should be a public conversation app with over 1 billion people on it. Twitter has had a chance to do this, but it hasn’t done it right. Hopefully we will.’
The new app is the latest chapter in the rivalry between Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, who bought Twitter in October.
Last month, the pair — two of the world’s most high-profile billionaires — agreed to go head-to-head in a cage fight in an exchange that went viral on social media.
Musk tweeted about Meta saying, “It’s infinitely better to be attacked by strangers on Twitter than to indulge in the false happiness of hide-the-pain Instagram.”
Users of the new app can use their Instagram login to get started and, just like on the photo-sharing platform, can follow and connect with friends and influencers with similar interests.
In the UK, all users under the age of 18 are given a private profile by default when they join.
Someone’s feed on the app contains threads from people they follow, as well as recommended content from creators they haven’t heard of.
Threads posts can be shared to a user’s Instagram story and as a link on other platforms.
People can control who mentions and comment on them in the new app, replies to threads with specific words can be filtered out, and other users can be unfollowed, blocked, restricted, and reported.
Any accounts a user has blocked on Instagram will be automatically blocked in the new app, and Instagram’s safety guidelines will be enforced on the new platform, Meta said.
Ultimately, the California-based company wants people without a Threads account to be able to interact on the platform, hoping to usher in a “new era of diverse and interconnected networks.”
If and when this happens, if a user has a public profile, their posts can be accessed from other apps, while if they have a private profile, they have to approve new followers.
Earlier this week, social media consultant and industry analyst Matt Navarra said the app is the “first credible threat” to Twitter.
He said, “I think Threads is the first real, credible threat to Elon Musk’s Twitter.
“Twitter users are desperately looking for an exit from the platform to escape, and the existing options of rivals are quite limited.
“They all have the same big problem, which is that you have to start from scratch – it’s a network that’s completely new.
Threads is now available to download from both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for users in over 100 countries, including the UK. Millions have already signed up
After downloading the Threads app, users log in with their Instagram username. Posts can be up to 500 characters long and contain links, photos, and videos up to five minutes long
The new app allows users to filter replies to your threads that contain specific words and prevent other people from mentioning you
Gordon Ramsay and Shakira are just a few celebrities who have already posted on Threads
“One of the biggest benefits for Meta is that it builds on Instagram, where people are known and can also kickstart their followers because it ties into the same social graph.”
He said that while users are hungry for change, it would be weighed against the mixed public opinion of Meta.
He added, “Meta and Instagram come with baggage, a bad name and bad press. People are very wary and skeptical about everything [Meta owner] Mark Zuckerberg does.”
The arrival of the new app comes after Twitter announced that TweetDeck will become the next part of the company to be restricted to users who have paid for verified status.
Two days earlier, Musk announced that users would only be allowed to read 600 messages per day.
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