Threads versus Twitter

Short texts only really work when they compress issues and are as harsh as possible. Threads seems to have replicated this weakness, too.

CHUN YOUNG-SUNThe author is head of the K-entertainment team at the Joongang Ilbo. After Facebook’s parent company Meta introduced a new social media app — Threads — it racked up 70 million users in a day, the fastest-ever growth for an app. Threads’ primary aim is to “kill Twitter,” with the latter going through lawsuits and restructuring after Tesla CEO Elon Musk took over.

While it is an early version, Threads’s key function is similar to that of Twitter, real-time sharing of short texts. As Threads is linked to Instagram — which boasts 2 billion monthly active users (MAU) — it is expected to easily catch up with Twitter, whose MAU is 360 million.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who successfully promoted the new product through a war of words with Musk, expressed high hopes for Threads. He said. “There should be a public conversations app with 1 billion-plus people on it.”

While Twitter has lost much of its appeal in Korea, it continues to be influential in the U.S., where it is used by public opinion leaders. Given the explosion of Twitter user complaints after Musk took over last year, Meta rightfully sought a chance to enter this market. Elated by the app’s initial success, Zuckerberg emphasized that Threads would become a place for public discussion with less noise.

General users also need to weigh Threads’ utility. When you don’t have enough time to use all the social media apps already installed, there has to be a clear reason to add one more.

On July 9 — its third day of service — the hottest topic on Threads was various memes of a possible physical fight between Zuckerberg and Musk. Fast food chain Wendy’s got 60,000 likes with a mention, “Hey @zuck, you should go to space just to really make him mad lol,” a jab at Musk’s plan to explore space. Zuckerberg also responded with a tears-of-joy emoji.

In Korea too, celebrities are coming up with new words like “Threads influencers” in English.

At this point, we need to be reminded of Twitter’s biggest shortcomings. Communication via short text is most effective when you are arguing or joking. But they are not nearly as effective in narrowing differences. Short texts only really work when they compress issues and are as harsh as possible. Threads seems to have replicated this weakness, too.