Threads: Check out Instagram’s latest app!
Facebook launched its newest app just 5 days back on October 3, 2019: Threads from Instagram.
Long-story-short:
Messenger:FB=Threads:Insta
Slightly-longer-short:
1. Threads is a camera-first messaging app with core functionalities resembling Snapchat a lot.
2. But unlike Messenger where you can message all FB friends, in Threads you can only message your ‘Close Friends’ on Insta. Threads builds upon the ‘Close Friends’ feature that Insta had added last year to ensure that your ‘more private’ stories are shared only with those with a tolerance for your ‘more privates’.
3. Insta also gave Threads an additional feature, something that looks like Insta PMs must have a given a lot of thought into, something that you’ve never seen before. I was kidding, of course. It’s a Whatsapp rip-off ‘Status’ feature that billions are used to. But hey, now you can set your status on Threads to a series of default statuses like “free”, “busy”, “eating”, “studying”(& then updating your status on Insta, looks serious study) or guess what, you can even write a status on your own!
4. The aesthetics, however, do look good. There are 5 (yes 5!) different themes to select from: Daylight, Twilight, Midnight, Aurora, Sunrise. My personal favourite is Aurora, it’s a really cool green & black Aurora Borealis inspired theme.
My personal take:
Why introduce a separate app for sending pics/messages to a group of followers called ‘Close Friends”? Just add this feature on Insta Direct, right?(For the uninitiated it’s the official name of the messenger integrated into the Insta app). Plus, Threads doesn’t offer anything additional apart from the rip-off Status feature as well.
To me, launching Threads = Adding Status feature + Close Friends messaging feature on the existing Insta Direct. (Plus, I’d love to see the 5 Threads’ themes integrated in the existing app!)
Forecast of Threads: Hit or Flop?
Let’s go a bit quantitative. I’m defining a quick-and-dirty benchmark metric for judging the success of Threads and I’m calling it, well, benchmark.
benchmark=Number of messenger users/Number of Facebook app users.
benchmark = 1.3 billion/1.74 billion=0.74. (Source: The Internet mates)
Now, for Threads to have a similar kind of success, the forecasted number of Thread users = benchmark*Number of Insta users = 0.74*1 billion = 740 million.
Thus, if Threads hits 740 million users then by my quick-and-dirty benchmark I’d say that Threads was a big hit.
However, this quick-and-dirty benchmark is far from being a dependable success indicator. First off, Threads is only aimed for Close Friends. Secondly, I feel messaging on FB is a more integral part of its offering than on Insta, where uploading photos & stories look more integral. (I don’t have data to back this up though!)
Conclusion:
Just download the app and let us know if you found it nice, or not. We’ll publish your take in the follow-up article! Honorable mention to those who can propose better success metrics for Threads.
That’s all. Keep following for exciting news!
\\Utkarsh Sinha
