Jack Dorsey takes dig at Mark Zuckerberg over 'follow' request on Threads

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey has reacted to Mark Zuckerberg's 'follow' request on the Threads app, after having criticised it as a Twitter clone.

Jack Dorsey reacts as Mark Zuckerberg sends him a follow request on Threads app. (AP)

Meta Platforms chief Mark Zuckerberg's new social media app, Threads, has become a fierce competitor to Elon Musk owned Twitter. It has already raced past the 150 million downloads number. Like Twitter, people can share text, links, and interact with others on the Threads app. Now, it has been revealed that Twitter co-founder and former chief Jack Dorsey has opened an account on Threads. Soon after that, Dorsey received a 'follow' request from Zuckerberg. However, Dorsey took a dig at the Meta chief instead!

Dorsey shared a screenshot on Twitter, showing Mr. Zuckerberg's follow request. He captioned the post with “Too soon, b.”

Interestingly, despite slamming Threads, Dorsey has created an account on the platform. When Threads launched worldwide on July 5th, Dorsey criticised the new app, referring to it as one of the many "clones" attempting to copy Twitter. In one of his tweets, he said, "We wanted flying cars, instead we got 7 Twitter clones."

Threads has posed a significant challenge to Twitter, which has struggled since being taken private by Elon Musk. However, Dorsey continues to criticise Threads for imitating his brainchild, Twitter. He once tweeted, "All your Threads belong to us [sic]," along with a screenshot from his iPhone, showing that the Threads app requires at least 14 permissions to run.

Threads was launched by Meta for iOS and Android users in 100 countries. The app is currently available for free on the App Store and does not display any advertisements.

The outcome of the ongoing battle between these two tech giants remains uncertain. Threads has experienced remarkable user growth since its launch earlier this month, attracting celebrities, politicians, and other notable individuals to the platform.

Twitter had approximately 240 million monetizable daily active users as of July last year, according to the company's last public disclosure before Musk's acquisition. However, data from web analytics companies suggests a decrease in usage since then. And today, Musk has said that Twitter has lost half its revenue.

Although it is still early to predict, Evercore ISI suggests that Threads could generate substantial revenue for the social media giant. Analysts from Evercore ISI estimate that Threads will reach nearly 200 million daily active users and generate around $8 billion in annual revenue over the next two years. Significantly, a note by Insider Intelligence says that Twitter is set to earn less than $3 billion in 2023.