Social media expert discusses impact Threads will have on Twitter

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Social media users ran Thursday to Meta’s new app, Threads, as it aims to compete with Twitter.

The app has already become the No. 1 social networking app in the app store, and one social media expert said Threads could finally be the thing that sends Twitter users fleeing the nest.

“This has been a constant question from my clients over the past six months,” said Katie Love, CEO of Love Social Media. “‘Katie, should I be on Twitter? Is it going to be helpful for my business or is it going to be completely dead?’ This is going to put the nail in the coffin.”

Tens of millions of people quickly signed up for Threads, which hit the app store on Wednesday night. It is basically the sister app of Instagram. But rather than edited photos, it emphasizes authentic conversations. 

“People from all over the world are talking to each other, they are engaging,” Love said. “This is not a place to be heavily promotional, and brands and businesses really need to take a second look when they’re thinking about their social media strategy on Threads.”

Love said by design, nothing is too tailored about Threads, which is one reason the launch has been a success.

“What’s so interesting about Threads is we’re discovering new people,” she said. “We’re seeing Threads from people who we wanted to see their content but for some reason on the Instagram algorithm, we never see it. So it’s opening us up to a new audience.”

The app’s interface does share some similarities with Twitter. But Love pointed out some differences.

“We’ve got some Instagram integrations,” Love said. “We have the heart for loving someone’s post, the comments, the likes. You can leave memes or emojis. It’s just a lot more colorful.”

But are the similarities with Twitter still too close? Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk, seems to think so. His attorney reportedly sent Meta a cease and desist order to stop using what he calls “Twitter trade secrets” in Threads, alleging Meta hired former Twitter employees to develop the app.

Meta claims no one on the Threads engineering team is a former employee of Twitter.