Threads, the latest addition to Meta (Facebook), will be one year old on Friday. The rival social network to X (formerly Twitter) now has 175 million monthly users, but is struggling to convince them to spend much time there and to find its place in an already saturated ecosystem.
“Threads now has over 175 million monthly active users. What a year.”said Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of Meta, on the platform on Wednesday, in response to a message from Adam Mosseri, the boss of Instagram and Threads, thanking his teams.
In July 2023, as many users and advertisers deserted a Twitter bought and transformed by Elon Musk, Threads had a dazzling start.
In just a few days, the app was downloaded more than 100 million times, thanks in part to the super-simple way it was registered on Instagram. But user activity quickly declined, and remains the main downside.
“175 million is a big number,” acknowledges Jasmine Enberg, an analyst at Emarketer. “But that doesn’t necessarily reflect the number of people joining the service on a daily basis or the amount of time they spend on it.”
In an interview with the Platformer newsletter, Adam Mosseri said that he was ” iron “ that all meaningful audience metrics, such as time spent on the social network on a daily basis, “progress steadily”.
However, he renewed his ambition to “building the best online idea sharing platform”.
X resists
“That means becoming bigger than X (ex Twitter). It will take time, but I will consider it a failure if we don’t succeed.”he said.
Or X reached 600 million monthly users and 300 million daily users last May, according to Elon Musk.
Figures that leave analysts doubtful, but still show the long road that remains to be traveled for the real-time conversation network.
The logos of X (ex-Twitter) and Threads / LOIC VENANCE / AFP/Archives
“When Threads launched, X was struggling. But X has held up surprisingly well.”notes Debra Aho Williamson of Sonata Insights.
“Sports and political discussions are still very active on X and, given the Olympics, Euro 2024 and this year’s US presidential election (among other major events), X will likely continue to attract users.”the analyst added.
Unlike Twitter/X, Meta does not encourage the spread of political content, which can make discussions acrimonious and drive away some of the public. Political messages from accounts that users do not follow are therefore hidden by default.
“Take the war in Gaza right now. Do we really want to show people very strong views, pro-Israel or Palestinian, coming from an account they didn’t choose?”asked Adam Mosseri on Platformer.
This operation could “attract more attention”he acknowledged, but felt it was not worth it in view of the “risks” and some ” anger “ potential that it could arouse.
« Taylor Swift »
Jasmine Enberg understands this consensus approach, but points out that Threads is sorely lacking “of its own identity”which would make it an essential place for its users.
The platform needs “to create an identity that is not just ‘not X’ or ‘not Twitter’, nor just an extension of Instagram”she explains to AFP.
In July 2023, as many users and advertisers deserted a Twitter bought and transformed by Elon Musk, Threads had a dazzling start / Stefani Reynolds / AFP/Archives
Adam Mosseri’s team has so far focused on technical improvements to the social network, which does not yet have advertising and therefore does not yet generate revenue.
To impose Threads, the American group is counting on cultural and sporting discussions.
“My daughters want me to mention that Taylor Swift is now” on the app, Mark Zuckerberg joked during a conference call on Meta’s financial results.
This remark from the boss “clearly demonstrates the need to position the app as culturally relevant”estime Jasmine Enberg.
But in the end it is the users who shape the identity of a platform, explains the analyst. But the new service “still relies heavily on Instagram to drive traffic and engagement, with notifications and links to encourage users (of the image network) to go and chat on Threads”.
“There aren’t really any content creators specifically for Threads that would make the app a must-have for consumers.”
