In the highly-anticipated rivalry between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, a wrestling cage match may never come to fruition. However, the battle for power, cultural relevance, and ego in the realm of social media is still very much alive. And in the first round of this fight, Zuckerberg has emerged victorious.
Meta's new app, Threads, which aims to replace Twitter, has exceeded all expectations and rapidly gained a massive user base. In just a few days, the app has garnered over 100 million users, surprising even Zuckerberg himself. This impressive growth has solidified Threads as the most formidable contender to challenge Twitter's dominance.
While the longevity of Threads' popularity remains uncertain, its launch has undeniably been a triumph for Meta. Zuckerberg, reveling in his success, took to Twitter (his rival's platform) after an 11-year hiatus to troll Musk with a Spiderman clone meme. In retaliation, Musk's lawyers threatened a lawsuit, accusing Meta of stealing Twitter's trade secrets, while the new CEO of Twitter, Linda Yaccarino, emphasized that the "Twitter community can never be duplicated." Musk also engaged in a steady stream of disparaging tweets aimed at Zuckerberg and his apps.
Musk's critique highlights one of Meta's significant challenges with Threads: the risk of becoming dull and mundane without a stimulating mix of authentic and entertaining content, rather than the generic marketing posts from brands and celebrities that tend to dominate Instagram. While Instagram aims to be a "less angry" platform by discouraging political and hard news content, this approach may hinder Threads' potential to serve as the vibrant public square of ideas that Twitter was at its peak.
Nevertheless, the numbers speak for themselves: Threads has amassed millions of enthusiastic users, with its popularity growing by the hour. Among the numerous Twitter competitors that have emerged in recent months, such as Bluesky, Mastodon, and Post News, Threads stands out as the most promising contender.
Threads marks a significant achievement for Meta as it strives to rebound from a challenging phase characterized by stock price dips and stalled user growth. Unlike Meta's ambitious metaverse projects, Threads focuses on the social media basics, demonstrating the company's strength in cloning successful features from competitors with precision and scale. Zuckerberg seized the opportunity to strike when Twitter faced backlash from users due to temporary limitations on tweet visibility. While Musk claimed that Twitter's users were growing, third-party reports indicated a downward trend in traffic.
Internally at Meta, Threads has provided a much-needed morale boost following recent mass layoffs. Feedback groups and message boards are abuzz with excitement. If Threads continues to succeed, it could mark the beginning of a sustained comeback for Zuckerberg, who had declared the previous year as a "year of efficiency" to revive Meta. With stock prices on the rise and Threads generating buzz, Zuckerberg and his staff finally have reason to celebrate.
Outside of the company, social media users frustrated with Twitter's perceived right-leaning bias eagerly embraced Threads as an alternative. However, critics argue that trusting Meta may be unwarranted given its history. Threads collects a wide range of user information, similar to Twitter, including location, health and fitness data, and browsing history. Meta's track record on data privacy, from the Cambridge Analytica scandal to breaking EU regulations on protecting teenagers' privacy, has raised skepticism among users.
Regardless, many disillusioned or ambivalent Meta users have willingly overlooked their concerns to join Threads as a clear alternative to Twitter. This unexpected turn of events has positioned Zuckerberg as the "cool guy" in certain corners of the internet. Viral memes depicting a victorious Zuckerberg alongside Musk's demise have flooded social media platforms, cementing Zuckerberg's triumph, at least for now.
After enduring a challenging year, Zuckerberg finally has a substantial win under his belt during his nearly two-decade reign. The success of Threads marks a turning point and demonstrates that Zuckerberg's strategy to prioritize social media basics has paid off. As the battle between Zuckerberg and Musk continues, only time will tell if this victory will be fleeting or a lasting triumph for Meta.
credit: vox.com
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