Is Meta's New Threads Platform Another Social Media Gamechanger Or Slow Flop?

Meta Platform Inc.'s introduction of Threads has been a resounding success, attracting over 100 million users in just a few days since its launch. 

The app secured 20% of Twitter Inc.'s global weekly active user base to rank as the fastest-growing consumer application in history, dethroning the viral generative artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT. 

Threads' user base crossed 86 times the number of weekly active users compared to Truth Social, the largest Twitter competitor in the United States, which had 1 million weekly active users as of mid-July. The app also surpassed 150 million downloads, making it 5.5 times faster in reaching this milestone compared to Niantic's Pokémon GO, which held the record for the largest app launch since its debut in July 2016.

In addition to its milestone of 100 million signups announced on July 10, Threads attracted an audience of approximately 93 million active users worldwide during its initial partial week of availability, according to a Data.ai report. 

India has taken the lead in terms of global downloads of the new app, surpassing the United States with a 33% share, according to Data.ai. Brazil follows closely with 22%, while the U.S. accounts for 16%, and Mexico and Japan trail behind with 8% and 5%, respectively. 

Threads is currently unavailable in the EU because of regulatory challenges concerning privacy and data collection practices. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is taking measures to prevent EU users from circumventing this block using virtual private networks (VPNs). 

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Declining User Engagement 

Zuckerberg informed employees that although Threads had a remarkable beginning in early July, over half of its users have since ceased using the platform regularly.

"Obviously, if you have more than 100 million people sign up, ideally it would be awesome if all of them or even half of them stuck around," Zuckerberg said. "We're not there yet."

The decline in total daily active users concerns market and industry experts, as they question Meta's dominance in the social media space. 

Zuckerberg has remained calm throughout the ordeal, characterizing the ongoing user base engagement as a "normal" phenomenon. The Meta CEO disclosed during an internal company meeting that user retention on the text-based app was higher than anticipated by top executives. He also expressed confidence that Threads' user base would expand by introducing new features, enhanced content search capabilities and a user-friendly desktop version.

The company is working on launching "retention-driving hooks" designed to ensure "people who are on the Instagram app can see important Threads," Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox said.

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Challenges For Zuckerberg

"If you launch a gimmick app or something that isn't fully featured quite yet, it might be counterproductive and you could see a lot of people churn right back out the door,"  independent mobile analyst Eric Seufert said.

Zuckerberg's challenge is to dethrone Twitter and establish Threads as the go-to app for real-time, public conversations. While size and scale have their advantages, history in the tech industry has shown that they can only take you so far.

Meta also needs to ensure that people can discover friends and influencers on Threads in the same serendipitous and unconventional ways that Twitter has achieved. The platform also needs to be safeguarded from being overwhelmed by spam and grifters. Users' patience and understanding for upcoming app updates also is crucial to Threads' long-term success.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri shared in a Threads post that the company has compiled an ongoing roster of user-requested features to incorporate into the new app. 

"They say, ‘Make it work, make it great, make it grow,'" Mosseri posted on Threads. "I promise we will make this thing great."

Zuckerberg also hinted at the potential for boosting the microblogging platform's growth, stating in a Threads post that he hasn't yet "turned on many promotions yet."

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