Is ‘Threads’ by Instagram hanging by a thread?
“The Twitter landscape has changed dramatically since Elon Musk acquired the platform last year. Many new competitors have emerged, hoping to dethrone the giant. But despite the buzz around some of them, like Bluesky, none have really taken off. Instagram Threads is different.”
What is Threads?
A spin-off app from Instagram, Threads launched on 5 July 2023 and took the global market by storm. Do you think the name sounds familiar? You’re probably right! In 2019, Threads was introduced as a messaging and video chat app, resembling Snapchat. It allowed users to send images, texts and videos to those on their ‘close friends’ list on Instagram. However, the same features were later incorporated within Instagram and a low user-base forced the app to be discontinued in December 2021.
It made a dramatic comeback in 2023 — its main aim being to rival Musk’s Twitter (now X). In October 2022, when Musk acquired Twitter (X), he faced tremendous backlash owing to the changes brought about in the app’s content moderation policy. Users were seeking alternative apps to use and welcomed Threads with arms wide open. (…any Creed fans here?)
To keep it short and simple, Threads focuses on conversation rather than visual content. You can create posts with up to 500 characters, 10 photos, links and videos. Further, you can re-post and reply to others’ posts.
How and why did Threads become so popular?
The easy sign-up process contributes greatly to Threads’ success. All you need to do is download the app and click on ‘log in through instagram’ without having to enter personal and contact details. Basically, Threads tapped into Instagrams strong user base of 2.35 billion users instead of having to start with a couple hundred only. According to The Economic Times, it broke all records with accumulation of users -
- Approximately 2 million users within 2 hours of its launch
- Approximately 10 million users within 7 hours of its launch
- Approximately 30 million users within 12 hours of its launch
- 100 million users 5 days since its launch.
Threads has dethroned ChatGPT which had crossed 100 million sign-ups 2 months after its launch, to achieve this feat. In response, the head of Instagram Adam Mosseri said “It’s insane, I can’t make sense of it!”
Just like that, it proved to be a major success. Further, it’s an easy — to — navigate app and if you use Instagram you’re likely to feel right at home with Threads. When you sign up you also get a badge on your Instagram profile which directs your followers to your Threads profile.
So then, is Threads hanging by a thread?!
The number of daily users has fallen by approximately 70% as of July 17 2023, after it reached its peak 10 days earlier on July 7. Instead of 20, users are now spending barely 4 to 6 minutes on the app each day — a significant decline from the audience’s initial response.
Reports say that the app has experienced a double digit decline in Daily Active Users (DAUs) on a global scale.
This decline isn’t surprising though. Today’s audiences are capricious. We all pine after the latest and shiniest tech-app but we also have incredibly short attention spans. Once the craze dies down and the fad fades, we barely pay the app, in this case Threads, a second glance.
On the flip side, even while Threads’ DAU peaked, Twitter’s (X’s) DAU fell by just 4% — assumed to be because users were trying out the new app. Even then, the average time spent on Twitter (X) daily was 25 minutes. On Threads’ best day, it had 49 million users on Android — just 45% of Twitter’s (X’s) 109 million users the same day.
But what is Threads lacking so as to experience such a significant downfall?
Threads launched as a 1.0 beta version and is, as a result, a work in progress. On a positive note, this bare version allows the people in charge like Adam Mosseri (Instagram CEO) and Mark Zuckerberg (Meta CEO) to respond to user feedback personally. Through the replies on their personal pages, it looks like they genuinely care about user experience. To top it up, in its primary updates, Threads already introduced a translate button as well as a section on your homescreen to see who followed you.
One of the primary wants is a browser version of the app. Millions of people cannot type as easily on their smartphones and Threads being a mobile-only app is one of the greatest reasons people are refraining from using it. Afterall it is equally necessary to cater to a generation whose mode of talking is their laptop’s keyboard. Moreover, and very simply, it is easier to scroll through social media on a browser than a phone when pretending to work!
People are looking at Threads to be a source of verified and vetted news, similar to Twitter (X) in a pre-Musk era. A big mistake from Meta is Mosseri’s announcement that Threads won’t encourage news or politics. For Threads to defeat Twitter (X) it is imperative for the app to introduce stringent content-moderation rules and ban the spread of misinformation. Currently, the app’s feed is dominated by brands and influencers — not what the public is necessarily looking for.
Can Threads make a come-back?
Threads implemented a simple formula to guarantee its extraordinary success. Backed by Instagrams users and worldwide displeasure with Twitter (X), created a winning situation for Meta. But after its initial success, will it be able to sustain itself in today’s ever-changing and competitive market space?
It would be safe to assume that inculcating the demands of the consumer effectively would allow Threads to live up to its record-breaking reputation however we are yet to see if Twitter (X) can be wiped out. A Meta spokesperson was quoted as saying “we launched the app just over a week ago, and our focus now is on ensuring stable performance, delivering new features, and continuing to improve the experience in the coming months” which is certainly a step indicating positive change. Swift responses to the change in the user-base includes the introduction of the ‘Your Likes’ tab where users can find all their liked posts in one place — a move made to align Threads with Twitter (X). Further, it has introduced an ‘post-translator’ feature as well as a ‘repost’ tab which offers a consolidated view of all reposts.
With the introduction of these features, in the previous few weeks, Threads has managed to attract approximately 15 million new users. This number is only bound to increase after Zuckerberg has promised an introduction of a web-version of the app.
It is yet to see however, if Threads can re-garner its initial renowned success.
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Writer: taashamistry
Editor: Mouli Rambhia
