In July this year, Instagram launched Threads, its own version of Twitter. The app was an instant hit, with an overwhelming uptake and a huge buzz that was felt all over the internet. However, this success was short lived, with active users dropping like flies in less than a month. So what happened?
In July this year, Instagram launched Threads, its own version of Twitter. The app was an instant hit, with an overwhelming uptake and a huge buzz that was felt all over the internet. However, this success was short lived, with active users dropping like flies in less than a month. So what happened?
The rise of Threads
Threads was launched in July 2023 as part of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Platforms.
The uptake was phenomenal, with the app being downloaded more than 30 million times in just 16 hours, surpassing the previous record set by ChatGPT and making it the fastest-growing platform in history. Threads became the fastest app ever to reach 100 million users – a feat that took Twitter over 5 years to accomplish.
A huge part of this exceptional growth rate was the seamless integration with Instagram. The 1.4 billion existing users of the photo-sharing app were able to create a connected Threads account in just a few taps. However, another reason it took off so spectacularly was because it promised to be a better alternative to Twitter.
Why did users want a new Twitter?
Many developments within the world of social media are born from an almost compulsive need to jump on every bandwagon. We’ve seen this in the introduction of YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels after the explosion in popularity of short-form video app TikTok. However, rather than being a copycat approach, the launch of Threads came as an almost direct response to users’ growing dissatisfaction with Twitter.
A predecessor to Threads had been created as part of Instagram back in 2019, and subsequently ditched in 2021 due to poor performance. The 2023 relaunch coincided with Meta’s attempts to capitalise on long-standing issues with Twitter, such as rampant advertising, privacy concerns and an overwhelmingly toxic culture, as well as the changes made following Elon Musk’s hostile takeover of the platform.
During his tenure as CEO after buying Twitter (a multi-month shitshow that he tried to back out of), Musk introduced many controversial changes to the platform. This included reinstating banned accounts, culling the platform’s workforce, and introducing an $8 charge for the blue verification badge that was almost instantly exploited by trolls. And that’s not to mention the bizarre choice to rename the platform to X.
The huge initial success of Threads spoke volumes about user dissatisfaction with Twitter. However, its glory days didn’t last long.
The fall of Threads
Threads was launched on July 5th 2023, peaking at 49.3 million daily users on July 7th. By August 7th, just one month later, daily users had dropped to less than 11 million. Similarly, upon its launch, users spent an average of 21 minutes a day using Threads, falling to just 3 minutes by August.
So, what went wrong? How did Threads go from being the fastest-growing platform in history to a digital ghost town in just a few weeks?
By practically auto-enrolling accounts from Instagram, Threads was able to take advantage of a huge user base. However, the key differences between the demographics, intentions and functionality of the platforms caused a little friction.
Anecdotally speaking, as a millennial who has been active on Twitter since 2007 and is chronically addicted to Instagram, I noticed a big difference between how Twitter users and Instagram users were interacting with Threads. Those who were looking for a Twitter alternative were disappointed that it wasn’t exactly the same platform, just without the ads and Musk’s ego-driven shenanigans. Those who wandered in from image-heavy Instagram didn’t really know what sort of things to write about and got bored.
The success of Threads relied entirely on existing user pools and, once the hype died down, it had nothing new or unique to offer – especially as brands panicked about suddenly having yet another new social account to manage. Users found that, instead of a completely new online experience, they were being fed rehashed, lacklustre content in a suddenly wildly underpopulated platform.
During his tenure as CEO after buying Twitter (a multi-month shitshow that he tried to back out of), Musk introduced many controversial changes to the platform. This included reinstating banned accounts, culling the platform’s workforce, and introducing an $8 charge for the blue verification badge that was almost instantly exploited by trolls. And that’s not to mention the bizarre choice to rename the platform to X.
The huge initial success of Threads spoke volumes about user dissatisfaction with Twitter. However, its glory days didn’t last long.
How is Twitter – I mean, X – performing?
Twitter lost around 32 million users since Musk’s takeover but still managed to generate $4.4 billion in 2022. That’s only 10% of what he paid for it, by the way.
While this has certainly taken a toll on the platform, it still sees 237.8 million active daily users, each spending an average of 30.9 minutes in the Twittersphere. In comparison, Threads’ 11 million daily users are spending just 3 minutes a day scrolling and sharing. So we certainly can’t say that Twitter is dead (unless you count the axing of the name, of course), nor can Zuckerburg claim that Threads dealt the finishing blow.
It seems unlikely that Zuckerburg and his team will be able to breathe enough life back into the app to drum up even a tiny fraction of the public interest it initially gained and, despite what seem to be Musk’s best efforts to tank the platform, Twitter is still alive and well.
However, the exciting four-month life of Threads has given social media experts a lot to think about. It’s been a fascinating look into the psyche of the average social media user, and what a new platform needs to do (or not do) to achieve long-term success.
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Claire Baldwin
Claire has over 10 years' copywriting experience across a range of print and digital media, working with a variety of styles, formats and tones of voice. She has written as part of an in-house team client side, as well as at marketing agencies based in the East Midlands. Claire's services include copywriting, copy editing, content creation and proofreading.