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Thread Carefully – Meta’s Threads Takes On Twitter

It would be IMPOSSIBLE for us to not discuss Threads – the new Twitter clone via Mark Zuckerberg and the Instagram folks.

What do we know so far?

Threads hit 100 million signups in just five days.
For context, ChatGPT was the fastest-growing consumer product by getting 100 million users after two months.
Plus, Threads hasn’t even launched in the EU because… wait for it…
Privacy concerns.
All of this is making Zuckerberg look good in comparison to Elon Musk, which is surprising when you consider how much Facebook/Meta has been challenged by their own consumer data and privacy issues.

People just hate Twitter/Musk that much more?

Also, Threads is a mobile app only – no web/desktop version (yet).
So… with no real search functionality, direct messaging, hashtags or even an ability to follow only the people you select, it’s an impressive start.

Will it work?

Many believe that Threads is our option to get it “right.”
Meta executives are using lines like, “a more positive public square,” and a place for people “that never really embraced Twitter.”
Many believe that Threads is simply a Twitter copy, and it will never be able to replace/replicate what people (still) love about Twitter (and it’s just dirty to steal the idea, in the first place).
Musk is threatening to sue Zuck because it is, essentially, a Twitter rip-off.

Most of the time, Meta’s copycat experiments have failed. But a small number of cloned or acquired features have thrived.

From its TikTok-ish Reels to its Snapchat-ty Stories… both of those rips have paid off handsomely.
With that, Twitter traffic was down 5% for the first two full days after Threads launched, and is down 11% compared with the same days in 2022.
Because of the integration of Threads with Instagram, there is a built in network of 1.7 billion users, and the app seems to be scaling and working very well considering the mad dash of people signing up.

So… where does this land?

Latest and greatest new addition to your social media portfolio of apps?
A quick burn in popularity and then a deep nose-dive because it’s not much more than a Twitter clone?
Something in the middle?

What is Tech Tuesday?

Every Tuesday – for just a few minutes – I join Heather Backman (my old buddy from her days on CHOM FM and Jack 103) on the air at 95.9 Star FM to give a quick blast about the current state of technology, media and Internet culture.
We call it Tech Tuesday (and we do it in just a few minutes).

Once the segment goes live on 95.9 Star FM, I will post it here for you to listen in, learn, share and engage.

https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1562257693

Mitch Joel · Thread Carefully – Meta's Threads Takes On Twitter

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Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.