Threads achieved 175 million monthly active users in its first year. Can Zuckerberg catch up with Musk?

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the launch and growth of Meta's social media platform Threads, which aims to compete with Twitter (now X). It covers Threads' user numbers, its positioning as a less controversial alternative to X, and Meta's plans for the platform's future development.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Overview of Threads

1. What are the key facts about Threads' launch and growth?

• Threads was launched by Meta a year ago with the goal of competing with Twitter (now X)
• It has achieved 175 million active monthly users, as announced by Mark Zuckerberg
• Threads reached 100 million registered users in just 5 days, faster than any other app in history
• Threads did not launch in Europe until 6 months after its initial launch, due to Meta's caution

2. How does Threads position itself compared to X (Twitter)?

• Threads aims to be a less angry and polarizing platform, with fewer politics and less news
• The Threads algorithm is more careful about promoting controversial or denigrating content, and focuses more on incisive conversations about current events
• Meta's approach is that there is room for a social network with a different, less confrontational tone, where users can choose the topics that interest them

3. What are Meta's plans for Threads' future development?

• Threads had hinted at integrating with the "fediverse" (a collection of federated social networks), but Meta's head of Instagram and Threads, Adam Mosseri, now says this is a "long-term bet" that is proving difficult to implement
• Mosseri indicates that Threads is not currently seeing a lot of growth from the fediverse integration, and that the platform is focused on getting the "basics" right in terms of compliance and privacy

[02] Comparison to X (Twitter)

1. How do the user numbers of Threads and X compare?

• X (Twitter) continues to have more total users than Threads, although Musk has not shared concrete details since acquiring the company
• In October 2022, X exceeded 500 million active monthly users, and around 215 million daily users
• Musk has announced plans to remove the "repost" and "like" buttons, as well as the repost, like, and reply counts on individual posts, and require users to swipe left or right to like or reply

2. What are the key differences in the approaches of Threads and X?

• Threads aims to be a less controversial and polarizing platform, with a focus on incisive conversations rather than politics and news
• X (Twitter) has historically been driven by controversy and anger, even before Musk's acquisition
• Threads is positioned as a network where users can choose the topics that interest them, rather than being exposed to strong opinions on divisive issues

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