What Is Better: Threads or X?
Twitter will not tweet anymore since Elon Musk took it too personally to bid adieu to “all the birds" and turn it into X. Just X. After acquiring it in April 2022, reportedly at a cost of $44 billion, Musk turned Twitter into a private company to go under his X Corp and funded a complete rebranding. Yes, it was as sudden as if the Bruce Bet casino had changed its name to the Die Hard betting platform.
Twitter users have since been bitter about the entire experience of frequent changes. Just in time, Instagram Inc. launched Threads in June 2023, under the ownership of Mark Zuckerberg’s parent company, Meta Platforms, which also owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
While no real competitive attitude came from the side of Threads for X, users can’t help but compare what is better. This article only resonates with the people’s voice.
The Battle of X and Thread: What Inspires a Good Experience
Just a month after Meta launched Threads, in July 2023, X Holdings filed a lawsuit against it, accusing them of cheating and employing former Twitter employees only to leak trade information from them. Musk even tweeted or posted on “his” X account about it: “Competition is fine, cheating is not.”
As the legal and social battle ensued, with both billionaires exchanging posts and tweets about their hypothetical fights, many users simply switched to Meta’s platform to take it out on Elon Musk. Compared to other apps, Threads attained 100 million users more quickly. But the growth was shortlived because, practically, X is bigger in terms of options, features, and overall user engagement.
Things That Matter the Most, for the Sake of Competition
“Twitter cannot be duplicated,” says Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X since May 12, 2023.
But Threads don't pose a threat to X. Because it is aimed at extending the Instagram userbase, especially for people who don’t use Twitter. They are not targeting Twitter/X users. According to Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, it is an Instagram community. “A less angry space” for personal and public interactions. Below are some of the deciding factors between the two platforms that matter the most:
Approach: You can look for people to follow by using a so-called Instagram’s cousin and see what they are up to, but unlike Insta, you cannot address other users directly, so it’s more of a one-way communication. X is going to employ everything, in text, audio, video, messaging, payments/banking and 2-way communications;
Outreach: Meta’s platform is aimed at catering to Insta 2.35 billion current users rather than beginning from scratch. Because of this, the app gains more credibility and a competitive edge over the rival;
Userbase: Threads started with a strong userbase that took years to acquire for Twitter. It includes the Dalai Lama, Bill Gates, and Shakira, as the most followed celebs and businesses, like Netflix and Amazon. X continues to have a more worldview-centric user base, including CNN, NASA, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Key Differences Between the Two
X tweets continue to offer the limit of 280 characters earlier offered by Twitter. Meta’s creation started with a 500-character limit. So, you can practically say more with each post on the website.
X continues to enable more opinionated exchanges, while its rival aims for friendly debates and discussions in a community. What’s better between the two platforms is more about the users’ nature and preferences. We want to give you a chance to make up your mind using the table below.
Instagram’s new social media is quite at a nascent stage, to be honest, and has a very definite focus on communication. Meanwhile, X is more multivariate in nature, which is inherent to the Twitter outreach. So, if you are looking for simplicity and want to follow what interests you, then Meta’s platform is better. If you want to continue to pursue discoverability and a platform that connects you to the world, then X is better.
The Utility of Different Social Media
While healthy comparison is always welcome and paves the way for the utility of communications in a community, social media is often the place to spread hatred and angst under the guise of sharing opinions. At the end of the day, no matter which social network you choose, it must serve the purpose of building healthy relationships and disseminating love and positivity.
Both Musk’s and Zuckerberg’s platforms are unique; similar in so many ways but different too. While X fosters brevity and succinct yet impactful exchanges, allowing individuals to engage in rapid-fire conversations and share moments of joy and encouragement, Threads, with its singular approach of following what you believe in, becomes a hub for like-minded Instagram users to converge and bond over shared interests, values, or causes.
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