Meta’s Threads has achieved a significant milestone by surpassing 100 million sign-ups within five days of its launch, positioning itself as the fastest-growing platform in history. As a potential competitor to Twitter, the app’s rapid growth has attracted attention, although it still faces challenges in reaching the user base of its established counterpart.
10 July 2023 – Meta Platforms (META.O), the parent company of popular social media platforms, has achieved a remarkable milestone as its new Twitter rival, Threads, surpasses 100 million sign-ups within just five days of its launch. The platform’s rapid growth has garnered attention as it emerges as a serious competitor to established microblogging apps, with users flocking to the platform organically.
Threads, Meta’s latest venture, has garnered significant momentum since its recent launch, attracting notable figures from various fields, including celebrities and politicians. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, announced the extraordinary achievement in a Threads post, emphasizing that the demand has been predominantly organic, with limited promotions employed thus far.
The platform’s rapid ascent to 100 million users has outpaced the growth of ChatGPT, previously considered the fastest-growing online platform. While Threads demonstrates substantial growth, it still has ground to cover compared to Twitter, which boasted nearly 240 million monetizable daily active users as of last year.
In response to Threads’ arrival, Twitter has threatened to sue Meta, claiming that the company used trade secrets and confidential information in developing the app. However, legal experts suggest that proving such allegations may pose challenges.
Threads bears resemblance to Twitter, as do other emerging social media platforms that have gained traction amid user dissatisfaction with the management of existing services. The platform allows posts of up to 500 characters, supporting links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length. Currently lacking direct messaging functionality and a desktop version, Threads aims to cater to lighter topics but acknowledges the presence of politics and hard news.
Despite certain limitations, including the absence of hashtags and keyword search functions, which restricts appeal to advertisers and real-time event tracking, analysts believe that the recent turmoil at Twitter, including imposed limits on tweet visibility, could work in favor of Threads, helping attract both users and advertisers.
At present, the Threads app remains ad-free, with Zuckerberg indicating that the company will consider monetization options once it reaches a clear path to 1 billion users.
Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram at Meta, clarified that the intention behind Threads is not to replace Twitter, but rather to focus on subjects like sports, music, fashion, and design. However, he acknowledged that political and hard news discussions are likely to occur on the platform, presenting a challenge for an app positioning itself as a “friendly” option for public discourse online. – Reuters
