WRITER: Tolulope Olaniyi
When Meta’s Threads was launched, it appeared poised to challenge Twitter‘s dominance in the social media landscape, but its path to success hasn’t been smooth sailing.
Rapid rise to popularity:
Threads achieved an impressive milestone by gaining 100 million users within its first five days, making it the fastest-growing consumer software application in history.
Its success can be attributed to its focus on text-based posts, a concept that gained traction after Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in October 2022.
In addition, Threads’ integration with Instagram Notes, a feature introduced in December 2022, played a crucial role in its development.
The features of threads:
Threads, operated by Meta Platforms, offers a range of features similar to Twitter. It allows users to post and share text, images, and videos, and engage with posts through replies, reposts, and likes. The app’s seamless integration with Instagram requires users to use Threads under the same handle as their existing Instagram account, fostering a smooth connection between the two platforms.
The initial surge and lack of features:
Threads had a massive influx of users right after its launch, boasting 100 million sign-ups in its first seven hours, which later increased to 114 million.
One of the factors contributing to its early success was the ease of creating an account for existing Instagram users. However, the app lacks many fundamental features that Twitter users are accustomed to, such as emoji, hashtags, and a chronological feed. These missing elements make it challenging for Twitter users to make a seamless transition to Threads.
The decline in daily active users:
According to data analytics company Similarweb, Threads experienced a significant drop in daily active users, plummeting from 49 million to 23.6 million within just one week. Even the total daily minutes of use saw a decline from 21 minutes on July 7 to slightly over 6 minutes on July 14.
The troubling deletion policy:
Users who decided to switch away from Threads encountered an unexpected obstacle. Deleting a Threads account necessitates deleting the associated Instagram account as well. This policy has left some users feeling frustrated and “trapped” in their Threads accounts.
While the app allows for deactivation, permanently deleting the profile and data requires taking down the Instagram account, which has led to public outcry and complaints on rival social media platforms like Twitter.
Future prospects and regulatory challenges:
While Threadshas seen rapid growth, its European Union launch was postponed to address regulatory concerns about data collection policies.
As the app continues to evolve, its combination of text-based interactions, seamless Instagram integration, and rapid user expansion will undoubtedly shape the future of social networking, offering users a fresh way to connect and interact online.
However, addressing user concerns and refining its features will be crucial for Threads to hold its ground in the competitive social media landscape.
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