An alternative in the making?

The well-timed move of Mark Zuckerburg-led Meta to float a microblogging platform on the lines of Twitter has created ripples in the social media landscape. Twitter, under Elon Musk, has undergone significant changes over the last year — some of them really controversial. There is widespread perception that many Twitter users might be searching for an alternative platform. When Musk took over Twitter last year, he must have been sure that it would be extremely difficult for rivals to come up with an alternative platform of a scale that would nudge loyal Twitter users to flee the platform and go elsewhere. However, more than the loyalty factor, it was a pragmatic calculation that factored in deterrence in the form of the forgone cost of leaving a platform on which so much social capital was already invested. To put it simply, Musk would have liked to stick by the conviction that users will not abandon Twitter because they have built an extensive network over there, which they won’t want to lose. This conviction was not entirely wrong, as a lot of Twitter alternatives — like BlueSky or the Koo app — have failed to match its scale and popularity. But Zuckerburg, it seems, has a plan in his mind. More importantly, he undoubtedly has the resources to overtake Twitter at some point in future. In fact, he has been outrightly explicit. The Meta leader hopes that Threads will overtake Twitter’s 250 million monthly users. “It will take some time, but I think there should be a public conversation app with 1 billion+ people on it,” he asserted. Of course, Zuckerburg has reasons to believe so. Unlike the previous alternatives that had the uphill task of attracting users to start afresh on a new platform, Meta-engineered Threads finds its greatest strength in this direction. It feeds on the extensive user base of Instagram, which runs in billions against the 250 million monthly users of Twitter. It is learnt that the planning to cash on the alleged turmoil of Twitter was underway in the inner circles of Meta for quite a time. An alternative plan of launching Instagram Notes, where people can share short messages on the site, was also conceived. The idea, it seems, was to harness the popularity of Instagram to create a platform of scale that would match Twitter’s. However, Meta decided against Instagram Notes in favour of Threads. While Threads app will serve the intended purpose, it also provides the space for not tinkering with well-performing Instagram through undue experimentation. So far so good. But it is still a matter of speculation whether Meta will be able to overtake the flavour of Twitter. Musk took to his very own Twitter to claim that “It is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter than indulge in the false happiness of hide-the-pain Instagram.” As for now, this should not be considered merely a rant of a rival. His argument has substance. While Threads can easily incorporate certain lacking features like allowing direct messaging and the freedom to edit posts, based on users’ experience, it will be an uphill task to match the genuine flavour of Twitter — popularly known as the ‘global noticeboard.’ There could be no doubts on the deep pockets of Meta and its experience in utilising algorithms, but the idea of creating a “friendly space for communities” might not provide the rawness that Twitter users are addicted to. Twitter is still the ace in breaking news and fares high on immediacy. Even if Threads manages to get an expansive user base by the virtue of being attached to Instagram and other apps, it is hard to tell whether it will justify the ‘Twitter Killer’ adjective it is being described with. Furthermore, Meta’s opaque handling of user data has been a cause of concern for years now. Threads’ launch in the vast EU market has been held back due to regulatory concerns. The launch of Threads might not be the endgame for Twitter — at least in the near future. One can only hope that the entrance of a new competitor brings out better outcomes for the users.