Even Bill Gates Joined... 'Seuredeu' Catching Up to Twitter, Already Surpasses 30 Million Users

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, has launched a new social networking service (SNS) called 'Threads,' which is gaining remarkable momentum. From Bill Gates to broadcaster Oprah Winfrey, more than 30 million users signed up in less than a day, marking a spectacular debut as a 'Twitter killer.' The pre-launch jiu-jitsu showdown between Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Elon Musk also seemed to help promote Threads.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the morning of the 6th (local time), CEO Zuckerberg announced on his Threads account, "Wow. As of this morning, 30 million people have signed up." This was just 16 hours after the app was released ahead of schedule the previous afternoon. Threads currently ranks number one in free app downloads on the Apple App Store. Although the functions differ, this speed surpasses that of the generative AI ChatGPT, which became a sensation by surpassing 1 million users within five days of its launch.

Celebrity sign-ups on Threads have been confirmed one after another. Microsoft (MS) co-founder Bill Gates posted his first message shortly after launch, along with a short video clip of him jumping over a chair, saying, "Excited to jump into the Threads app." Gates is a well-known user with 63 million Twitter followers. In response, CEO Zuckerberg welcomed Gates' account with a comment saying, "Honestly, quite a great jump."

Oprah Winfrey, who has 42.2 million followers on Twitter, also created an account. Other famous users with many Twitter followers, such as popular TV host Ellen DeGeneres, singer Jennifer Lopez, chef Gordon Ramsay, and pop star Shakira, have also become Threads users. Numerous brand accounts from Netflix, Airbnb, Marvel Studios, Spotify, and others have been launched as well.

Business Insider described the initial craze for Threads as "an alternative to Twitter," noting that "some Twitter users are leaving farewell messages on their Twitter accounts. Words like 'Threads,' 'Goodbye Twitter,' and 'Meta' are trending on Twitter." Some foreign media have called Threads a 'Twitter killer.' NPR reported, "Many challengers have come for Twitter's throne," adding, "Threads has gained 30 million users in less than 24 hours, putting it ahead of other Twitter competitors."

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

This rapid increase in users was possible because Threads is based on the existing Instagram user base. Instagram has an estimated 2 billion users, more than six times that of Twitter. If you have an Instagram account, you can log in to Threads without a separate registration process. However, currently, deleting a Threads account requires deleting the Instagram account as well.

Threads has positioned itself as a rival to Twitter even before its launch. Since it is a text-based SNS like Twitter, its usage is similar. However, users can write posts up to 500 characters, longer than Twitter, and upload videos up to 5 minutes long. Although hashtags and search functions are not yet included, the company confirmed that they are considering adding these features in the future. Threads is openly targeting users and advertisers disappointed by various policy changes since Elon Musk acquired Twitter, positioning itself as an 'alternative.' While Threads currently has no paid advertisements, many famous brands are opening accounts.

Moreover, the pre-launch showdown between CEO Zuckerberg and CEO Musk rapidly amplified public interest in Threads. Last month, Musk sarcastically responded "I'm scared to death" when asked about Threads by a Twitter user. When someone commented, "Be careful because Zuckerberg does jiu-jitsu," Musk replied, "I'm ready for a cage fight." Upon hearing this, Zuckerberg told Instagram to set a place for a match, and Musk responded, "Las Vegas Octagon." Among SNS users, comments flooded in calling it the 'battle of the century' and expressing a desire to watch from the front row.

CEO Zuckerberg further fueled this rivalry by posting the 'Fake Spider-Man' meme, commonly used to say "Who are you?" on his Twitter account the day before Threads launched. This tweet was the first he posted on Twitter since effectively suspending his account in January 2012. Shortly after Threads' launch, Zuckerberg appeared on Musk's home turf for the first time in about 11 years, provoking Musk.

However, many challenges remain before CEO Zuckerberg's Threads can truly become a Twitter killer. Zuckerberg himself mentioned in the post announcing 30 million sign-ups that "It feels like a special start, but there is a lot of work to build the application." Similar services like Mastodon and Bluesky, which imitated Twitter, only enjoyed brief popularity. There are concerns that even a major company like Meta could fall into the trap of imitation. Additionally, Threads faces various privacy issues that early Twitter did not have to consider. Due to regulatory issues, Threads was not launched in the European Union (EU) this time either.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.