Threads, an app launched by Meta, made waves in the social media arena and potentially posing a challenge to X (Twitter’s) long standing dominance. In the aftermath of Elon Musk acquisition
of Twitter in October 2022, the platform faced controversies surrounding its policies and business decisions. Elon even recently renamed the company to X which has created an unstable audience and created an opening for Threads to steal the spotlight.
Threads, an overnight success story?
Within its initial 16 hours of launch, Threads amassed an enormous 30 million users and quickly crossed the milestone of 100 million active users in the coming weeks. The app’s popularity can be attributed to its ease of access, as it seamlessly links directly to users’ Instagram accounts, simplifying the setup process.
Threads arrived on the scene at a critical time when X/Twitter was facing backlash over its policies, including the infamous Twitter Blue subscription, which replaced the previous verification system and imposed limits on daily posts.
As the Threads launch died down so did the traffic but the company recently announced the launch of their desktop platform which should help boost more engagement.
A More Positive User Experience
Threads aims to create a positive social media space, which many say is the opposite of X/Twitter, where users can share their interests and ideas freely.
- User controlled experience: Managing mentions and replies and adding hidden words that will filter posts.
- Actively enforced community guidelines in an unbiased manner
- Absence of ads: Absence of ads until 1 billion users.
- No imposed limitations on posts which gives an uninterrupted browsing experience
Possible Challenges
- The app has yet to be made available in the European Union due to concerns surrounding its data tracking practices, raising questions about Meta’s history of data harvesting.
- X/Twitter has threatened legal action against Meta for alleged infringements of intellectual property rights and the hiring of ex-Twitter employees for confidential information, though Meta has denied these allegations.
Threads continues to make its mark in the social media world with its fast-growing user base and subsequent high engagement. The app’s success comes from listening to user feedback and making improvements. The rise of Threads as a strong social media contender continues to challenge X/Twitter and inspire both platforms to innovate for their users.
For businesses, it’s a great time to try Threads as a marketing platform! With its impressive growth, Threads offers a unique opportunity to explore a popular new app. Whether Threads will surpass X/Twitter in the future is yet to be seen, but right now, it looks to be a strong contender.
