The daily usage of Threads has declined by 50% in the second week of its going live.
Meta is thinking of introducing rate limits and blocking spam.
Elon Musk has called Threads a copycat.
Threads usage has reportedly tanked in the second week by 50-percent. Elon Musk has reacted to this news. But, we just don’t want to react, rather dig deep to understand the reason for this. Let’s start with where we think Meta has gone wrong with Threads.
A thread on what Instagram Threads lacks
- For starters, Threads misses some basic features that Twitter and Instagram has like hashtags, a web client, a proper search and discovery engine, etc. Due to these reasons, the app feels half-baked at the moment.
- More importantly, we think Threads lacks a unique value proposition. It seems as if it is in a confused state between Instagram and Twitter. Looks and interface-wise, it looks inspired from both these apps, but everything is on a surface level only. So, users who flocked into it from Instagram don’t understand the reason for another early-Instagram-like app and Twitter users looking for an alternative don’t find the Threads feed to be as engaging.
Also Read: Threads is different from Twitter and that is both a good and bad thing
- The feeds are mostly filled with posts that seems to be sharing positive affirmations and vibes. Instagram chief Mosseri said they are “definitely focusing on kindness and making this a friendly place". Meta ensures this through stringent moderation guardrails. So, as per the company, Threads will be open for discourse as long as the discussion is civil.
Meanwhile, Twitter (under Elon Musk) brags to be a platform encouraging free speech, even if it allows for indignation. But, as long-time Twitter users may acknowledge, Twitter thrives not despite of but because of this.
Also Read: Threads on Windows 11 desktop: Get it running in 9 simple steps
- Further, Meta’s decision to not promote Threads as a platform for politics and news makes it a less interesting space for public discourse. Twitter has been the digital public square where people debate and discuss around these topics and for these reasons, it also gained cultural relevance.
Lmaooo
Copy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 17, 2023
So, if Threads intends to gain cultural significance, it perhaps needs to be different from Instagram and borrow a leaf out of Twitter’s playbook. Meta, being the top social media company in the world and miles ahead of Twitter in terms of user base and revenue generation should be able to find a way to make Threads more interesting and engaging for people to stick around. In other words, Threads needs to be threading more.
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G. S. Vasan
Vasan is a word weaver and tech junkie who is currently geeking out as a news writer at Digit. View Full Profile
