Threads Open Social Network
Threads is a new app, owned by Meta (Facebook), and built by the Instagram team, for sharing public conversations akin to Twitter. You log in using your Instagram account and posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos with a 5 minute limit. Threads is Meta’s first app envisioned to be compatible with an open social networking protocol
Threads is seen by many as a direct competitor to Twitter, the social media platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk. Threads has been setting records for user growth since its launch on July 5, 2023, with politicians, celebrities, news creators and users joining the platform. Threads surpassed 100 million user ‘sign-ups’ within five days of launch according to information from Meta.
Projected to create revenue of $8 billion by 2025
Threads is projected to contribute a staggering $8 billion to Meta’s annual revenue by 2025. The report further highlights that Threads has already garnered 1 million sign-ups and is on track to reach an impressive milestone of 1 billion users in the near future.
User drop-off to be expected?
However, some recent news reports suggest that Threads has encountered challenges in retaining its users and competing with Twitter. Threads ‘daily active users’ is reporteded to have fallen from 49 million two days after its launch, to 23.6 million users about three weeks later in July 2023, according to reports. The app’s average usage time also fell from 21 minutes to 6 minutes over the same timeframe.