Threads, Meta’s alternative to X (formerly Twitter), has reached 175 million monthly users a year after its unexpected launch. “What a year,” Meta CEO and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday on Threads, celebrating the platform’s significant milestone.
Threads, which debuted on July 5 last year, is a spin-off of Instagram, designed to compete with X after the platform alienated many users and advertisers following Elon Musk’s acquisition in 2022.
Threads was hastily released after Musk threatened to limit non-subscribers’ posts on X, sparking a wave of chaotic announcements by the Tesla founder. Zuckerberg seized the opportunity.
Promoted through Instagram accounts, over 100 million people downloaded Threads within a week of its launch in 100 countries, though the EU had to wait until December due to regulatory concerns.
Instagram’s promotion helped Threads become the fastest downloaded app ever, surpassing the previous record held by AI sensation ChatGPT. Despite initial enthusiasm waning, Threads gradually grew its user base, aided by Instagram crossover and users disillusioned with Musk-owned X.
Threads chief Adam Mosseri hopes the platform will eventually become more independent from Instagram and plans to open it to advertisers soon.
“Getting bigger than Musk’s X will take time, but I will consider it a failure if we don’t get there,” Mosseri told the Platformer news website. Threads has faced criticism for Meta’s decision to downplay news and politics, aiming to create a friendlier environment than X, even if it risks reducing engagement.
“A year after launch, we know what Threads isn’t, but we don’t know what it is,” said Emarketer principal analyst Jasmine Enberg.
“The lack of a unique identity is one of its biggest hurdles to achieving real staying power,” she added.
Now privately owned by Musk, X no longer releases industry metrics, insisting its user base is growing and more engaged than on other platforms.
“Threads was launched during a time when X was struggling, but since then, X has been surprisingly resilient,” said Debra Aho Williamson, chief analyst at Sonata Insights. “Sports and political discussion remain very active on X. With the Olympics, Euro 2024, and the US presidential election this year, X will likely continue attracting users,” she added.
Source: Tech Xplore
