Threads, Meta's latest program geared at competing with Twitter, has seen a precipitous drop in popularity since its highly anticipated launch earlier this month. The site first received a lot of attention, with over 100 million sign-ups in a week. However, subsequent data shows a considerable reduction in Threads' user base, indicating that the initial euphoria has faded.
Threads had over 49 million daily active users (DAU) when it first launched in early July. Surprisingly, this number plummeted by half after just 10 days, leaving the app with only 23 million DAU. SensorTower, an analytics firm, also found a reduction in user engagement, with fewer users logging in after the first week of use. Although new apps often generate substantial interest, Threads' initial success was partly attributed to its integration with Instagram for promotion, streamlining the sign-up process by leveraging users' existing Instagram accounts.
However, Threads falls short in comparison to Twitter's strengths. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri clarified that the app would not prioritize news content, restricting interactions mainly to users' existing networks. This limitation hampers the app's potential to reach a broader audience, as individuals would need to manually follow new accounts to expand their content exposure. Furthermore, the absence of a real-time news ecosystem, which is a cornerstone of Twitter, widens the gap between the two platforms.
Additionally, Threads lacks Twitter's anonymity feature, as it is directly integrated with Instagram. Twitter's significant user base of anonymous accounts is not effectively catered to by Threads. In response to an increase in spam attacks, Threads recently announced the implementation of rate limits to counter the issue. However, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri acknowledged the potential unintended consequences of these limits, as some active users might be inadvertently affected. This announcement drew a response from Twitter CEO Elon Musk, who has been critical of Meta's new social media endeavor since its inception.
As Threads grapples with a sharp decline in daily users, it faces the challenge of overcoming its limitations and rekindling the initial excitement it once generated. Meta has to find newer ways to buy user attention again for the app which had received tremendous opening response that no other app has received so far.
