Photo: Meta
‘Meta’s main competitor introduces dedicated mention button and customizable alt-text feature.’
While Elon Musk awaits medical clearance for his proposed cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg, their respective companies, Meta and X, are engaged in a rivalry over consumer adoption. Today, Meta’s platform, Threads, made significant updates in an attempt to challenge X’s dominance. Zuckerberg announced that Threads now supports sharing posts to Instagram DMs, custom alt text for photos and videos, and a new mention button.
One of the standout features is the “Send on Instagram” option, which allows users to directly publish their Threads posts to Instagram DMs. This feature is seen as a retention strategy to ensure that important Threads content reaches users on the Instagram app. According to Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, Meta aims to address falling engagement on Threads following a rapid influx of over 100 million users within a week. Zuckerberg considers this decline as “normal” and expects retention to improve as Meta continues to develop the social channel, which launched in early July.
In addition to the Send on Instagram feature, Threads users can now add or edit alt text for photos and videos before uploading, enhancing accessibility. The new mention button simplifies the process of tagging profiles in Threads posts. Furthermore, Meta has made it easier to verify one’s identity on fediverse platforms like Mastodon by allowing users to add their Threads profile link for verification purposes.
These updates are part of Meta’s ongoing efforts to enhance Threads. Earlier this month, Meta announced plans for a web version of Threads, enabling desktop use for the first time and introducing a search function. Other recent additions include a chronological feed and the ability to sort the following list and view liked posts.
Overall, Meta’s aggressive update schedule for Threads demonstrates its determination to challenge X’s dominance in the consumer adoption arena. As the rivalry between the two billionaires’ companies intensifies, the outcome of their potential cage match remains uncertain.