On July 10th at 10pm, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Meta, announced on Threads that the platform had already surpassed 100 million signups. This extraordinary achievement came just five days after the launch of Threads, a social product by Meta's subsidiary, Instagram. Threads has gained immense popularity and has attracted a wide range of users including celebrities, brands, and media outlets. It has been hailed as a potential competitor to Twitter and has become an alternative platform for users dissatisfied with Twitter's recent limitations.
Threads, being built on Instagram, already had a strong user base and immediately gained traction upon its release. Influencers, celebrities, and top brands such as Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, Netflix, Amazon, Nike, Adidas, and Disney quickly embraced the platform. Even media outlets like CBS, The Economist, and Vogue moved their presence to Threads. This widespread adoption of Threads can be attributed to its seamless integration with Instagram and the direct attraction of creators to the platform. When creators share content on Instagram, their fans are naturally inclined to explore this new platform and give it a try.
The development of Threads began in late 2020 when Instagram decided to challenge Twitter's dominance. Dozens of engineers, product managers, and designers were assigned to develop competing apps. After several months of internal development, Meta revealed a preview of the application internally, with the code name "Project 92" and the proposed public name "Threads". Zuckerberg's timing for the launch of Threads on July 5th couldn't have been better. Just a few days prior, Twitter had announced limitations on the number of tweets non-paying users could view in a day, which sparked user outrage and led to hashtags like #GoodbyeTwitter trending. Threads quickly became the preferred option for users seeking an alternative to Twitter.
In a tweet announcing the launch, Zuckerberg expressed his desire for a conversation app with more than 1 billion users, emphasizing Twitter's failure to deliver on this front. Meta's Chief Product Officer, Chris Cox, described Threads as a "working" version of Twitter, indicating that Threads fulfills the needs of some users who are looking for a functional and less contentious platform. Despite being labeled as a potential "Twitter killer" by some users, Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, clarified in an interview that Threads is not aiming to replace Twitter. Rather, it seeks to create a more civil space for public conversations, focusing on topics unrelated to politics and hard news.
Threads seeks to reclaim Twitter's original vision of serving as a public square for conversations. While Twitter has been a pioneer in this space, Meta saw an opportunity to build something that benefits Instagram's existing community. However, it remains to be seen if Threads can fulfill its potential and avoid the controversies that have plagued Twitter in recent years.
Interestingly, Threads is not the only platform attempting to challenge Twitter's dominance. Mastodon, launched in 2016 by German developer Eugen Rochko, experienced a significant surge in user growth after Twitter's limitations were announced. Mastodon grew its user base eightfold in just a few weeks and now boasts over 10 million users. Similarly, Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, formed a small team in 2019 to develop Bluesky, which was launched on the App Store in April of this year. Bluesky also experienced a surge in downloads following Twitter's restrictions. While platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky are not yet in direct competition with Twitter in terms of user scale, their decentralized operations offer an alternative model to Twitter's advertising-driven monetization strategy.
Zuckerberg has expressed his confidence in Threads' future advertising monetization potential once the platform reaches a billion users. This is in contrast to Musk's comments earlier this year that Twitter's ad revenue had dropped by 50 percent since he took over as CEO. However, Musk acknowledged that Twitter still has large advertisers, such as Disney and Apple, who continue to place ads on the platform. Interestingly, Disney has a presence on Threads with over 1 million followers but has yet to start posting content.
In conclusion, Threads has made an impressive start, attracting a massive user base just days after its launch. With its integrated approach to Instagram and its appeal to influencers and brands, Threads has emerged as a potential alternative to Twitter. While it aims to build a less contentious space for public conversations, it remains to be seen if Threads can fulfill its potential and avoid the controversies that have surrounded Twitter. With the uprising of platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky, the competition in the social media landscape is heating up, challenging Twitter's dominance and offering users alternative options.
