Threads: A New War in the Social Media Industry

In the world of social media, a new star product, Threads, has emerged and shocked the industry by surpassing 100 million registered users in just five days. This new social app, launched by Meta and Instagram, has grown faster than well-known apps like ChatGPT, TikTok, and Instagram. What's more, the interface and features of Threads are very similar to Twitter, which was acquired by Elon Musk last year, causing Musk's anger and Mark Zuckerberg's confidence.

Musk believes that Threads is a “systematic, intentional, and unlawful misappropriation” of Twitter's trade secrets and intellectual property and has sent a cease and desist letter to Zuckerberg. However, Zuckerberg is not concerned since his Instagram has become the powerful back-end for Threads, with 500 million daily active and 1 billion monthly active users, making it the dream launch capital for any new product.

Threads' sudden appearance has hit Twitter at its weakest time. Since being acquired by Musk, Twitter has faced pressure from declining advertising revenue and challenges in monetization. Musk has also often taken drastic cost-cutting measures, such as laying off employees and implementing throttling orders. At this time, Threads' emergence poses a double threat to Twitter: on one hand, it competes directly with Twitter's users since it has similar functions and interfaces; on the other hand, Threads' rapid growth means that it is attracting advertisers' attention, weakening Twitter's commercial position.

Especially, a week before Threads' launch, Twitter implemented a “throttling order,” limiting the number of tweets users can view daily. Verified users who have purchased subscription services can view up to 10,000 tweets per day, while unverified users who have not paid can only view 1,000 tweets per day. This control measure has sparked widespread controversy and dissatisfaction, with many users claiming that Twitter is “driving away customers” by attempting to increase its commercial profitability by limiting users' time. However, Musk remained calm and unaffected by public opinion. In his usual tone of caring about the fate of humanity, he said, “The reason for setting a limit on the number of tweets viewed is that we are all 'Twitter addicts,' and everyone is lost in the online world. (So) I am doing a good deed for the world.” Influential people and advertisers have flocked to Threads, making Musk finally panic.

In this new social media war, the competition between Threads and Twitter will intensify. As one of the largest social media giants in the industry, Zuckerberg and his Instagram are currently in a flourishing period of time, while Musk and Twitter are going through a difficult stage. However, market competition in social media is always full of uncertainty and change, and it remains to be seen who will stand out in this war.