Not just another Threads app review
There is so much written about ‘Threads, an Instagram app’ that I had FOMO of not having an opinion on such a trending subject! So like millions of others, I also quickly downloaded the app to see what is all the fuss about.
Everybody is talking about how it is a ripoff of twitter as well its direct competitor / rival. People are also saying that user acquisition was fast and easy but retention may not be so.
Unpopular opinion
I politely disagree. I think they are totally on-point if we look closely.
Let’s understand: Why?
Design Interface is a twitter rip off
Yes, it is and no, that’s not such a big problem. (I have personally being an advocate for coming together and making a grammar rules for ux which contains standardised ux designs for certain functionalities which are very popoular and have already being registered in the digital users’ mind and muscle memory). Just imagine, how confusing it could be if the designers used all new iconography and interface for the same functions in the Threads app? That will make the adaptibility curve too high and lead to very slow user acquition and even slower retention because people who are already social media friendly will have to learn a ton of new icons and layouts etc to do the same functions as. apps they are very familiar with like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Currently, the app seems like a highly streamlined version of features and strategies put together from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! (Will do a detailed UX Audit of Threads too, it has some of the strategies I have been talking for years)
Twitter is not a (direct) competitor
Just because the threads app looks like twitter doesnot just mean they are competitors. One needs to dig deeper. Twitter caters to different target audience and different content category. It just overlaps Threads in its design. I think the threads logo is also on point, it talks about how content and creator are the kings for the app, with ‘@’ as its logo, instead of personal connections as other social media is based upon. They have positioned it as a content consumption platform which is the direction social media is also going into. It cleverly stays away from any color in its branding because all the colours denote some or the other social media app’s branding. I think, apps like Tumbler, Sharechat, Helo, Reddit etc. are its competitors.
Clear Messaging
The app calls itself ‘an instagram app’ in its main tagline. The messaging is clear that it is targeting Instagram users and its content, which is light hearted lifestyle content. It is not targeting Twitter users simply because Instagram and Twitter user & content type doesn’t overlap much.
Positioned for a new kind of content category
This is the primary USP of the app. There is a new content category emerging that Instagram has been struggling with from quite sometime and Facebook doesnt have the users for it anymore. This category is hybrid: text + visual content. Instagram is catering to just visual content (motion and static), but if we see closely we can see text is becoming an integral part of content creation and consumption but there is no app which caters to fun and addictive text based hybrid content at scale. It is quite difficult for Twitter to switch/add to this new content category as it is set in its ways, and Facebook is filled with baby boomers generation now.
User Retention is easier than you think
Because it focusses on fun relaxing content type and that we already know is addictive for the users. The user base is huge, as it caters to the users of instagram just to start with, but then alot of facebook users who have left the app when the boomers got onto it and some twitter users who like micro-blogging content in other than serious subjects. With such a massive user base, retention would be easier than we think right now, ofcourse it depends how Zuck plays his cards for this app in the coming few months.
To my understanding, Threads app is here to say, but give me sometime to use it and see where the tides go, the social media industry is so dynamic that my opinions might change with time.
P.S. Sorry for the typos! I have terrible proofreading skills, so much so that sometimes it seems like I might be dyslexic (no pun intended). But there has been alot of improvement in that area recently, so I am content with the tiny wins.
