Meta Takes Another Step Away from Facebook with Threads
The company’s new copycat app could easily become its second most valuable asset
Facebook launched in 2004 and reached 100 million users in 2008. When the company acquired Instagram in 2012, the photo-sharing app had just reached the same milestone after roughly two years. Threads, the Twitter clone launched by Meta last week, needed just five days.
Looking back on the early excitement of the now-defunct Google+ in 2011, some may argue that Meta should temper its expectations about Threads. At that time, however, Google shoved its social network down everyone’s throat with a Gmail account. And though Threads is an extension of Instagram, it still requires action on behalf of the user as a standalone app with a separate install. The sign-up process is seamless and most reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. (Not to mention the fact that Meta has already mastered the social media universe.)
For over a decade, Twitter has been a thorn in Mark Zuckerberg’s side and he finally landed a golden opportunity to try and take it down. With a single product launch, he managed to salvage his public image simply because Elon Musk gave him an opening to do so. Twitter has become a cesspool of untrustworthy content, meaningless badges and futile culture war…
