Why Threads was Doomed to Fail
Summary
TLDRMeta's new social media app, Threads, launched with high initial engagement but quickly saw a significant drop in user activity. Despite its rapid acquisition of 100 million users, concerns over privacy, limited features compared to Twitter, and the inability to delete accounts without deleting Instagram accounts have dampened its appeal. The app's future remains uncertain as it struggles to differentiate itself and compete in the crowded social media market.
Takeaways
- 📉 Meta's Threads app has seen a significant drop in engagement and time spent on the platform since its launch.
- 📈 Despite the decline, Threads had the largest initial user base growth of any social media app, reaching 100 million users in five days.
- 🔒 The ease of joining Threads through Instagram and the feature to transfer followers might have skewed the perception of genuine user engagement.
- 🚫 Users are unable to delete their Threads account without deleting their Instagram account, which could be a deterrent for some.
- 🕵️♂️ Privacy concerns are high as Threads collects more data than Twitter, including sensitive information, hindering its launch in Europe.
- 📱 Meta's history with privacy issues, particularly with Facebook, raises concerns about how user data is used on Threads.
- 🚧 Threads has limited features compared to Twitter, lacking a home feed for just followed users and chronological post viewing.
- 💡 The success of imitators often comes from offering an improved version of the original, which Threads has not achieved with Twitter.
- 🏆 Meta's strategy for Threads is to brand it as a 'kind' and 'friendly' space, contrasting with Twitter's focus on politics and news.
- 💰 Twitter is responding to competition by sharing ad revenue with creators, incentivizing quality content on their platform.
- 🤔 There is speculation that Threads might be part of a larger plan for the metaverse, aligning with Meta's vision for a decentralized online ecosystem.
Q & A
What was the initial reaction to Meta's Threads app after its launch?
-Engagement with Meta's Threads app dropped significantly after its launch on July 5th, with time spent on the app declining 60% from its peak and daily active users dropping from 49 million to 24 million within a week, according to SensorTower and SimilarWeb.
How does the user growth of Threads compare to other social media apps?
-Threads had the greatest start of any social media app, reaching 100 million users in five days, which is faster than the rise of ChatGPT.
What factors may have contributed to the initial surge in sign-ups for Threads?
-The ease of joining Threads through an Instagram account with just a few clicks and the feature of transferring Instagram followers directly onto the new platform could have amplified the popularity of Threads, giving a skewed perception of genuine user engagement.
Why might users feel 'locked in' to Threads?
-Users cannot delete their Threads account without also deleting their Instagram account, which could make them feel locked into the platform.
What privacy concerns are associated with Threads?
-Threads gathers more information than Twitter, including sensitive data such as racial or ethnic data, sexual orientation, pregnancy or childbirth information, disability, religious and philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, political opinion, genetic information, or biometric data.
Why is Threads not yet available in Europe?
-Threads is not yet able to launch in Europe due to the higher standard of legal consent required for collecting sensitive information under EU law.
How does Meta's Threads app compare to Twitter in terms of features?
-Threads has limited features compared to Twitter, lacking a home feed just for people you follow and the ability to view posts chronologically or search for specific posts.
What is Meta's sales pitch for Threads in terms of user experience?
-Meta is branding Threads as a 'kind' and 'friendly' place where politics and news are not emphasized, aiming to create a different user experience from Twitter.
How has Twitter responded to the launch of Threads?
-Twitter started sharing ad revenue with creators, beginning with a portion of the revenue earned from replies to their posts, as a way to incentivize people to post great content and bolster its appeal.
What could be the bigger plan behind Threads according to the script?
-Threads could be part of Mark Zuckerberg's wider goal to build the metaverse, a virtual reality space that enables users to interact within a computer-generated environment, and aligns with Meta's vision for a seamless online ecosystem.
What is the potential future competition between Twitter and Meta's Threads?
-The script suggests that despite the initial drop in engagement, Threads might still pose a challenge to Twitter, especially if it improves and integrates into Meta's broader metaverse strategy.
Outlines
📉 Threads' Disappointing Start
Meta's new social media app, Threads, launched with great fanfare but quickly saw a significant drop in user engagement. Despite boasting the fastest start of any social media app, reaching 100 million users in just five days, the app's daily active users plummeted from 49 million to 24 million within a week. Factors contributing to this decline include the ease of sign-up through Instagram, which may have skewed perceptions of genuine engagement, and the inability to delete a Threads account without deleting the linked Instagram account. Additionally, privacy concerns are highlighted by the app's collection of sensitive information, which is more extensive than Twitter's and has hindered its launch in Europe. Threads also suffers from limited features and an algorithm that pushes content from non-followers, which may not align with user preferences.
🤼♂️ Speculations on Tech Rivalry and Promotions
The script humorously speculates on a potential MMA-style match between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, emphasizing the importance of their contributions to the tech industry. It then transitions to a promotion of Brilliant, an educational platform offering interactive courses in math, data science, and computer science. The speaker recommends Brilliant for enhancing analytical thinking skills and provides a special link for a free 30-day trial and a 20% discount for the first 200 sign-ups. The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to follow @Newsthink on Twitter and a mention of a highly viewed interview on the platform, reinforcing the ongoing relevance and appeal of Twitter despite competition from new apps like Threads.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Meta
💡Threads
💡Engagement
💡SensorTower
💡SimilarWeb
💡Privacy Concerns
💡Imitation
💡User Experience
💡Ad Revenue
💡Metaverse
Highlights
Meta's Threads app, a Twitter copycat, is not meeting expectations.
Engagement on Threads has plummeted, with a 60% drop in time spent within the first week.
Daily active users on Threads fell from 49 million to 24 million within a week, according to SimilarWeb.
Despite a record-breaking start with 100 million users in five days, Threads' engagement has waned.
The ease of joining Threads through Instagram may have led to misleading initial sign-up numbers.
Threads' feature of transferring Instagram followers could have inflated perceived user engagement.
Users cannot delete their Threads account without deleting their Instagram account, which raises concerns.
Privacy concerns are high as Threads gathers more data than Twitter, including sensitive information.
Due to data collection practices, Threads is not yet launched in Europe where legal consent standards are higher.
Meta's history with privacy is questionable, with Facebook known for its data collection practices.
Threads lacks features compared to Twitter, such as a home feed for followed users.
The Threads algorithm pushes content from non-followed users, aiming to increase time on the platform.
Threads does not improve on Twitter; it merely mirrors it, with a few missing features.
Meta's strategy for Threads is to position it as a 'kind' and 'friendly' space, differentiating it from Twitter.
Twitter is responding to competition by sharing ad revenue with creators to incentivize content posting.
There's speculation that Threads could be part of a larger metaverse plan by Meta, aiming for a decentralized approach.
The rivalry between Elon Musk's Twitter and Mark Zuckerberg's Meta extends beyond the virtual world.
Brilliant is recommended for enhancing skills in math, data science, and computer science, with a special offer for viewers.
Transcripts
Meta’s Twitter copycat isn’t quite living up to expectations.
Days after launching on July 5th, engagement has dropped off a cliff.
Time spent on the app declined 60% from its peak a few days prior,
according to the software company SensorTower.
And this was during the first week it launched.
Similarly, software company SimilarWeb reported Threads’ daily active users
dropped from 49 million to 24 million in a week.
It’s even more disappointing considering Threads
had the greatest start of any social media app ever.
It reached 100 million users in five days - surpassing even the rapid rise of ChatGPT.
So, what went wrong?
While the initial interest may have appeared promising,
it’s possible this was somewhat misleading.
One factor contributing to the surge of sign-ups how easy it is to join.
I could easily get my puppy onto Threads by
signing up through her Instagram account with just a few clicks.
Additionally, Threads offers the feature of
transferring your Instagram followers directly onto the new platform.
This could have amplified the popularity of Threads,
giving a skewed perception of genuine user engagement.
Another aspect that’s problematic is that you can’t delete your
Threads account without deleting your Instagram account as well.
You can deactivate Threads, but you’re locked in unless you choose to delete both.
And privacy concerns are off the charts.
When I compare the privacy labels from Apple's App Store, I discovered that
Threads gathers more information than Twitter, including “sensitive info”.
That includes racial or ethnic data, sexual orientation, pregnancy or childbirth information,
disability, religious and philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, political opinion,
genetic information, or biometric data - which includes fingerprints and facial recognition data.
Because it collects so much data, Threads isn’t yet able to launch in Europe,
as collecting sensitive information requires a higher standard of legal consent in the EU.
Meta’s track record on privacy is far from clean.
Facebook is known for collecting user data and allowing advertisers to target them.
Besides privacy concerns, Threads has limited features.
Unlike Twitter, there’s no option of a home feed just for people you follow,
though such a feature is in the works.
Instead, the Threads algorithm pushes content from people you
don’t follow based on what it determines to be most engaging.
The goal is to keep you on the platform for longer,
exposing you to more ads when ads come to Threads.
Additionally, the inability to view posts chronologically on
the timeline or search for specific posts restricts the user experience.
The true success of imitators typically comes from offering
an improved version of the original product.
Like when Instagram took inspiration from Snapchat to create Instagram Stories.
Instagram added new features, such as the option to pause, rewind,
and fast-forward through stories, something that wasn’t available on Snapchat at the time.
This enhanced the user experience, and Instagram Stories surpassed Snapchat’s user base.
Threads, however, doesn’t really improve upon Twitter.
It mirrors Twitter - it’s hard to tell them apart - other than
for a few missing features mentioned earlier.
Meta’s sales pitch for Threads appears to be that it’s not Twitter.
Zuckerberg has been trying to brand Threads as a “kind” and
“friendly” place where politics and news apparently won’t be emphasized.
However, it's the back-and-forth on politics, news, and controversial
topics that makes Twitter so compelling, drawing people in and keeping them engaged.
By the way, I’d be grateful if you followed @Newsthink on Twitter. Link in description.
Tucker Carlson’s interview with Andrew Tate has been seen by 92 million users on Twitter.
Tate is a controversial figure who was banned from the platform prior to Musk taking over.
A big reason the SpaceX and Tesla CEO acquired Twitter for $44 billion was
because he felt freedom of speech had been restricted.
Twitter has been bracing for more competition.
About a week after Threads launched, Twitter started sharing ad revenue with creators,
beginning with a portion of the revenue earned from replies to their posts.
So Twitter is trying to incentivize people to post great content there, bolstering its appeal.
But maybe it doesn’t have to worry about the competition.
Will Threads end up in the graveyard of other failed Meta projects, like Lasso,
Facebook’s answer to TikTok, or Hobbi, its answer to Pinterest?
The huge drop in engagement so soon after launch suggests it’s headed
down that direction unless the app improves.
But maybe…this wasn’t about Threads but a bigger plan.
Threads could be part of Zuckerberg’s wider goal to build the metaverse, a virtual reality
space that enables users to interact with each other inside a computer-generated environment.
Meta says it plans to decentralize Threads, meaning it will work with other non-Meta
social networks, which aligns with Meta’s vision for the metaverse, a seamless online ecosystem
where interactions are not limited to one specific platform like Facebook.
The rivalry with Twitter is not confined to the virtual world.
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg may be stepping into an entirely different ring,
possibly fighting in an MMA-style match!
Who would you place your bet on? Let me know in the comments.
As fascinating as this fight would be,
I really do hope they’re not seriously injured as their tech companies need their big brains.
The brains behind their platforms are skilled engineers.
It’s the kind of skill that is so important to foster - especially today.
I highly recommend Brilliant, a website and app where you can
brush up on your k knowledge in math, data science, and computer science interactively.
If you're curious about how recommendation algorithms work and how they predict content
you'd love, dive into their new 'How Technology Works' course.
Using Brilliant is part of my daily routine. I like to dive into their
Logic puzzles which is a fantastic way to sharpen my analytical thinking skills.
To try out Brilliant, you can start with a FREE 30-day trial by
signing up via my custom link in the description: brilliant.org/newsthink
And the first 200 people to sign up through my custom link will receive
a 20% discount on Brilliant’s Premium annual subscription, unlocking all of the offerings.
Thanks for watching, I’m Cindy Pom.
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