As Twitter is one of my most used apps, it is with some interest that I’m following the upcoming launch of Meta’s Twitter competitor Threads.
The track record of Meta’s separate, non-integrated apps is not good. TechChruch mentions the following apps that Meta has discontinued: “anonymous teen app tbh, the Cameo-like app Super, Nextdoor clone Neighborhoods, the couples app Tuned, the student-focused social network Campus, the video dating service Sparked“.
The winning formula seems to be launch a separate app that is integrated with the main app (Facebook + Messenger), acquire an app with traction (Instagram), or launch a new format inside a popular app (Reels). (I think Nikita Bier wrote it, but cannot find where.)
It will be interesting to see how Threads work and how it is integrated with Instagram and Facebook.
