Meta's latest offering, the Threads app, has astoundingly registered over 100 million users in under a week of its global launch (except in the EU). Connected to a user's Instagram account, Threads is rapidly emerging as a significant rival to Twitter, now owned by Elon Musk.
Threads vs. Twitter: The War of Microblogging Platforms
The phenomenal growth rate of Threads is largely attributed to its close association with Instagram, boasting over 2.35 billion monthly active users. This strategic move by Meta quickly placed Threads on the map, causing tremors in the social media landscape, notably affecting Twitter's traffic.
Last week's introduction of Threads was marked by the addition of temporary "account numbers" on Instagram. These numbers symbolize the sequential registration of users on the new microblogging service. The count on Monday showed that Threads surpassed the 100 million mark, a data-backed assertion by a website dedicated to tracking these numbers.
However, even with its skyrocketing popularity, Threads is in its nascent stage, missing key features common to other microblogging services like Twitter and Mastodon. Notable absences include private messaging (DMs) and a functional search feature. Meta has made a call to users to test beta versions of the Threads app on Android, offering a sneak peek into upcoming features.
One crucial point for Instagram users to note is the interdependency between Threads and Instagram. Deleting your Threads account currently results in the removal of your Instagram account too, a concern that Instagram head Adam Mosseri assures is being addressed. For the time being, users can opt to deactivate their Threads account, thereby hiding their profile and posts on the platform.
Threads: A Threat to Twitter?
Twitter's reportedly unsettled reaction to Threads' rapid growth reflects the brewing tension between the microblogging platforms. Twitter has raised allegations against Meta for the apparent theft of trade secrets, linking it to the recruitment of former Twitter employees who were laid off by Elon Musk.
Twitter's response, coupled with Musk's derogatory remarks about Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, indicates the stir Threads' quick rise has caused in Twitter's camp.
Even though Threads has impressively reached the 100 million user mark in under a week, the key will be to monitor how many of these users remain active on the platform. Meanwhile, data shared by Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince suggests a decline in Twitter's DNS ranking over the first half of this year. The drop in Twitter's traffic is echoed by SimilarWeb's data, pointing to a declining trend since the start of the year.
As Threads continues its triumphant march, the question remains - is this a passing fad, or is it the dawn of a new era in microblogging?