Is Meta's 'Threads' the final nail in the coffin for Twitter?

Author

The Pulse by DB8
July 06, 2023

The battle of the billionaires continues as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg take their rivalry to a whole new level with Meta's release of Twitter competitor: “Threads”.

This wasn’t exactly the cage match we were waiting for… but we’ll take it.


The Pulse Results (49 Votes) 📈

Side A 42.86% - The timing of the Threads launch is perfect, this will be the final kill shot to Twitter

Side B 57.14% - Threads is just another one of many Twitter competitors that won’t last

Poll closed: July 8, 2023

Published on: July 5, 2023
Published by: CNN News 

Step into the ring, ladies & gents, because the battle for social media dominance just got a whole lot more interesting.

In one corner, we have the eccentric Elon Musk, the quirky and brilliant mastermind behind Tesla and SpaceX, who recently acquired Twitter and turned it into a whirlwind of controversy.

And in the other corner, we have OG Social Media Daddy Mark Zuckerberg, the brains behind Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp), who is never one to back down from a challenge.

But instead of settling their differences in a cage match (at least not quite yet), these two tech billionaires have taken their rivalry to a whole new level with Meta's latest release: Threads.

This text-based messaging app is a direct competitor to Twitter, offering a space for real-time conversations and even integrating directly with individuals’ Instagram accounts.

This may not be the cage fight we’ve all been waiting for, but we have to admit… it’s still equally as savage.

The Debate Showdown

Side A: The timing of the Threads launch is perfect, this will be the final kill shot to Twitter

  • Twitter has been on a downward spiral since well before Elon Musk’s acquisition, losing 1.7 million dollars a DAY. He didn’t exactly make the greatest first impression when he ruthlessly laid off 80% of the company. Musk’s attitude is off putting to say the least, he is unpredictable, and people don’t want to support that energy.

  • With Musk granting amnesty to previously suspended accounts (many of which belong to hateful individuals), combined with a serious reduction in content moderation… Twitter just no longer feels like a safe space for many people. Online bullying is a serious issue and we rely on these social giants to properly monitor the content that is being spread to the world.

  • With the most recent announcement limiting accounts that don’t subscribe to Twitter Blue to only being able to view 600 tweets a day, users are outraged about paying for a simple feature that they used to get for free. Why pay to continue using Twitter when you can sign up for ‘Threads’ for free?

  • Mark Zuckerberg and Meta have literally perfected the art of ‘copying & pasting’ features from other popular apps (like Snapchat & TikTok) and integrating them into their own. The fact that ‘Threads’ is also directly integrated with Instagram, auto-populating your entire profile and followers, makes it that much easier for people to adopt.

Side B: Threads is just another one of many Twitter competitors that won’t last

  • Threads isn’t the first Twitter competitor: Mastodon, Bluesky, Clubhouse, CounterSocial are a few of the many that have popped up over the years. There is a reason why none of them have successfully taken down Twitter. Twitter has been around since 2006 and has approximately 400 million active monthly users… you don’t just lose 400 million active users over night.

  • People are sick of being censored and Musk’s changes make people want to continue using the platform more than ever before. Twitter truly encourages free speech and will continue to exist for as long as people want their voices to be heard.

  • Meta just recently went through another round of layoffs and a large chunk of their remaining focus is on building the Metaverse… they don’t have the time or manpower to build a proper Twitter rival. ‘Threads’ is just a petty move for Zuckerberg to piss off Musk.

  • Twitter users who have built a serious following on the platform will never leave to start over on a brand new platform. Until ‘Threads’ figures out a way to seamlessly bring profiles & followers over from Twitter the way they have with Instagram (which will never happen as long as Musk owns it)… no big-time Twitter user is going to jump ship that quickly.

Previous Debate

Canada Day: To celebrate or not to celebrate?

Canada turned 156 on July 1st, and while some Canadians were eager to rock their red and white and return to regular pre-pandemic celebrations, this was one party that not everyone was hyped to celebrate.

debates.db8.com/p/canada-day-celebrate-cancel

Previous Pulse Results (55 Votes) 📈

Side A 87.27% - It is important to celebrate Canada Day, we should be proud to be Canadian

Side B 12.73% - Celebrating Canada Day is offensive considering the country’s violent history

Poll closed: July 5, 2023

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