By Rachel Marquardt, Senior Digital Strategist
Since Elon Musks’ takeover and transformation of Twitter, the social media world has anticipated a new rival app. Now Twitter may have met its match with the arrival of Meta’s new app “Threads.” Since its release on July 5, the app has already set itself apart from other self-proclaimed Twitter-rival apps, with over 30 million sign ups and 1 million posts within less than 24 hours. According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Threads now has 100 million sign-ups.
While it may feel like everyone is hopping on the platform, the app —nicknamed the “Twitter Killer” — is not without controversy, especially among legislators and key political influencers in Sacramento. And while its users continue to climb and the app’s capabilities improve, it’s still too early to tell if this young app will take over the Twittersphere and take the place as the go-to platform for Sacramento Beltway policy and political discourse.
Meet Threads — Instagram’s new sibling and Twitter rival
The development of the Threads app began six months ago when Facebook and Instagram creator-company “Meta” saw an opportunity to enter the race to create a “new Twitter.” Compared to other Twitter rival apps such as BlueSky, Threads was already a rising star, backed by the deep pockets of its parent company, Meta.
The platform looks strikingly like Twitter with the style of its sister platform Instagram, and has many capabilities similar to Twitter, such as posting, liking, reposting and sharing. Threads is also an algorithmically driven timeline, which means a user’s timeline will be a blend of who they are following and users they’ve never encountered before.
One of the most notable aspects of this platform is that it is already connected to Meta social media app Instagram. Currently, users cannot join Threads without having an Instagram account, as new users join by logging in through their existing account. Verification badges also transfer over – a seamless and stark contrast to the chaos and cost of Elon’s Musk’s Twitter verification process.
Other major differences between the two platforms include a 500-character count compared to Twitter’s 250-character limit, and the capability to post 5-minute videos compared to Twitter’s 2 minute and 20 second threshold, offering users additional space to share their opinions and perspectives.
Will Twitter be replaced?
While Threads has the same root capabilities of Twitter, the question still stands if it will adopt the same atmosphere and presence as the Twittersphere. Thanks to Meta’s deep pockets, Threads developers have the time and resources to adjust and update the platform to user needs. However, many Twitter users are arguing that Twitter continues to be irreplaceable.
Overall, we are seeing many prominent users post on both Threads and Twitter, meaning there’s potential. But will this take the place of the #CALeg Community? In the few days after the app’s launch there was a slow start from Sacramento lawmakers, although significant numbers of political and policy minds as well as the capitol press corps have launched profiles.
KEY SACRAMENTO DECISION MAKERS AND POLITICAL INFLUENCERS ON THREADS
List updated as of July 17 at 11:30 a.m. PST
| California Senate: 11 members | |
| Representative | Username |
| Angelique Ashby | senatorashby |
| Catherine Blakespear | senatorblakespear |
| Anna Caballero | senatorcaballero |
| Susan Talamentes Eggman | sensusaneggman |
| Melissa Hurtado | mhurtadoca |
| Brian Jones | senbrianjones |
| Monique Limon | moniquelimonca |
| Dave Min | davemin_ca |
| Steve Padilla | senatorstevepadilla |
| Susan Rubio | sensusanrubio |
| Scott Wiener | scott_wiener |
| Important Authorties | |
| Account | Username |
| Office of the Governor | cagovernor |
| Gavin Newsom | gavinnewsom |
| Eleni Kounalakis | eleniforca |
| California Assembly: 23 members | |
| Representative | Username |
| Dawn Addis | addis4centralcoast |
| Issac Bryan | ib2_real |
| Lisa Calderon | asmlisacalderon |
| Juan Carrillo | asmjuancarrillo |
| Wendy Carillo | wendycarrillo |
| Sabrina Cervantes | asmcervantes |
| Vince Fong | vincefong661 |
| Matt Haney | matthaneysf |
| Chris Holden | holden4supervisor |
| Josh Hoover | joshua_hoover |
| Jacqui Irwin | asm_irwin |
| Alex Lee | alex_lee |
| Josh Lowenthal | joshlowenthal |
| Devon Mathis | devon_mathis |
| Tina McKinnor | asmtinamckinnor |
| Blanca Pacheco | asmblancapacheco |
| Joe Patterson | patterdude |
| Eloise Gomez Reyes | egreyesca |
| Luz Rivas | luzmrivas |
| Robert Rivas | caspeakerrivas |
| Miguel Santiago | santiagoad54 |
| Buffy Wicks | asmbuffywicks |
| Lori Wilson | loridwilson |
| U.S. House of Represenatives from CA: 25 members | |
| Representative | Username |
| Jared Huffman | rephuffman |
| Mike Thompson | repmikethompson |
| John Garamendi | repgaramendi |
| Josh Harder | repjoshharder |
| Nancy Pelosi | speakerpelosi |
| Barbara Lee | repbarbaralee |
| Eric Swalwell | ericswalwell |
| Ro Khanna | rokhannausa |
| Kevin McCarthy | speakermccarthy |
| Jim Costa | repjimcosta |
| Tony Cardenas | repcardenas |
| Adam Schiff | adamschiffca |
| Brad Sherman | congressmansherman |
| Jimmy Gomez | repjimmygomez |
| Norma Torres | repnormatorres |
| Ted Lieu | reptedlieu |
| Sydney Kamlagar | rep_kamlagerdove |
| Linda Sanchez | replindasanchez |
| Robert Garcia | robertgarcialb |
| Nanette Barragan | repbarragan |
| Lou Correa | reploucorrea |
| Katie Porter | repkatieporter |
| Mike Levin | repmikelevin |
| Scott Peters | repscottpeters |
| Sara Jacobs | repsarajacobs |
| U.S. Senate Representatives: None | |
| Media Reporters | |
| Name | Username |
| Ashley Zavala | zavalaa |
| Lara Korte | bylarakorte |
| Morgan Rynor | morganrynortv |
| Eytan Wallace | eytanwallace |
| Melanie Mason | melmason |
| Elex Michaelson | elexmichealson |
| Carla Marinucci | carlamarinucci |
| John Myers | johnmyers_ |
| Liam Dillon | lidillon |
| Christopher Cadelago | ccadelago |
| Melanie Mason | melmason |
| Media Outlets | |
| Outlet | Username |
| Capitol Weekly | capitolweekly |
| San Francisco Chronicle | sfchronicle |
| Sacramento Bee | sacramentobee |
| Cal Matters | calmatters |
| Los Angeles Times | latimes |
| Business Wire | businesswire |
What’s next for the political and communications world?
While it’s too early to say if Threads will live up to its “Twitter Killer” nickname, it appears to be its fiercest competitor yet, with its user base rising quickly. What also remains to be seen if it can take the place of Twitter, which is the platform for political and policy discourse. In addition, Meta’s goal is to have Threads work across multiple apps to create what is called the Fediverse — a federated universe of services that all work under the same.
Updates ahead
While the app is flourishing with users, its capabilities are bare bones. This means updates and changes are likely to happen quickly and frequently as the platform grows. Many users already have expressed interest in the platform adding a direct messaging capability and the ability to create lists as Twitter does, those features have not been activated but we can expect it will be soon. Other significant additions mentioned by Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, as “on his list” include…
- A website interface. Currently Threads is an app only.
- A “trending” feed, similar to Twitter’s current trending feed.
- An elevated search that includes the ability to search topics and hashtags
- A feed that includes only people you follow.
- An option that allows only people you know to reply to your thread.
A way to advertise through Threads is also on the list, but Mosseri has mentioned that opening ad capabilities on the platform is not a top priority just yet. According to Mosseri, the app team is prioritizing making the app efficient and ensuring users continue to grow before turning the focus to monetization.
So, how do you sign up for Threads?
If you, your team or the organization you represent has an Instagram account already, it is an easy process to sign up and explore the platform. Depending on preferences, the best strategy may be to begin posting on the platform. But keep in mind that even if you decide to go “full speed ahead” on Threads, it doesn’t mean Twitter or any other prominent social platforms are less relevant — yet. For organizations who do not have an Instagram account, now may be the time to consider creating one in order to save your username for a possible Threads account in the future.
The accelerated adoption of the new platform Threads is an exciting prospect, and we are waiting in anticipation to see if the app takes a seat at the table of important social platforms like Instagram — and steals Twitter’s seat after all. Only time will tell how it will impact the Sacramento echo chamber, our communities, and the way we communicate.