It's Been 3 Weeks--How is Threads Holding Up?
It's been three weeks since Threads, the new social media platform from Meta, launched to the public. In that time, it has seen a steady stream of users, but it remains to be seen whether it will be able to sustain its momentum.
Early Success
Threads has gotten off to a good start. In its first week, the app was downloaded over 10 million times. It has also been featured in a number of major publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired. People from Instagram downloaded Threads as it was heavily promoted on Instagram, and you could only download Threads if you have an Instagram account. Because it was a new app, there was a lot of hype around being one of the first to get on the app.
Challenges Ahead
However, Threads faces some challenges ahead. One is that it is competing in a crowded social media landscape. There are already many popular platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, that offer similar features. There has been a lot of talk around Twitter and Threads as they are almost essentially the same app. Users created memes about Threads becoming the new Twitter, but with the new Twitter rebrand “X”, which app will survive in the long term? Another challenge is that Threads is still in its early stages. It is not yet clear how it will be able to monetize its users or attract a large enough audience to be sustainable. Meta did announce that once Threads gathers a big enough user base they will look into monetization. However, with user numbers dropping–from 49 million on July 7th to 23.6 million on July 14th–it’s uncertain if the user base will grow enough anytime soon.
The Future of Threads
It remains to be seen whether Threads will be a success. However, the platform has made a number of positive steps in its first three weeks. Its connection with Instagram has helped it attract a large number of users. However, there are also signs that people are slowly starting to lose interest in the app. According to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, the number of daily active users on Threads has declined by over 70% since its peak in the first week of launch.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
We see that the user base has been steadily decreasing since the launch of Threads.
There are a number of reasons why people might be leaving Threads. One possibility is that they found the app to be too similar to other social media platforms, such as Twitter. While it is essentially the same as Twitter, Threads is connected to your Instagram account, making it possible for people to see your true self if you end up posting “unhinged” content as Twitter users would. Because of this, Threads has become a text version of Instagram, with users not being entirely themselves and authentic because they have maintained their reputation on Instagram. Another possibility is that they were not satisfied with the limited features available. Threads’ latest update features a chronological feed to show users the content of people they follow, but the rollout for this feature was not ideal, and users were frustrated with seeing content from random creators rather than the ones they are interested in. Whatever the reason, it is clear that Threads will need to add new features and improve its engagement if it wants to keep users interested in the long term.
One feature Threads just added is a chronological feed and a “following” feed.
Here are some of the factors that will determine the future of Threads:
Monetization: How will Threads be able to monetize its users? Will it be able to attract enough advertising revenue or generate enough revenue from in-app purchases?
User Growth: Will Threads be able to attract a large enough audience to be sustainable? Will it be able to compete with the other major social media platforms? How will it bounce back from the 70% decrease in user base?
Feature Development: Will Threads continue to add new features that keep users engaged? Will it be able to differentiate itself from other social media platforms?
The future of Threads is uncertain. However, the platform has made a number of positive steps in its first three weeks. Even though there has been user dropoff, if Threads can rebound from the recent decline by engaging users with useful features, it still has the potential to be a major player in the social media landscape.