Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) launched Threads a year ago as Mark Zuckerberg's strategic move to capitalize on Elon Musk's struggles with X, formerly Twitter.
The long-standing feud between these tech giants has transformed into a direct business rivalry, poised to intensify as Threads prepares to introduce advertisements.
In July 2023, amid user unrest over Musk's changes to X, Meta hastily brought Threads to market, creating a nearly identical service with features like likes, followers, and a feed based on user interactions, Bloomberg reports.
Threads has grown to over 175 million monthly users, rapidly catching up to X and surpassing competitors like BlueSky and Mastodon.
Threads have added several significant features and attracted celebrities, journalists, and politicians who once made Twitter a hub for breaking news.
Threads introduced a "Recent" filter for sorting search results by the most recent posts and "Hidden Words" to filter out offensive content in feeds.
Despite its smaller size than X, Threads' user base is expanding swiftly. If Instagram head Adam Mosseri's vision comes to fruition, Threads will soon compete with X for advertising revenue.
Meta plans to offer more targeted and personalized ads on Threads, leveraging its success in digital advertising
Price Action: META shares traded higher by 0.08% at $509.89 at the last check on Wednesday.