– By Alain D.
Social media was shaken up this past weekend when the new app Threads rapidly gained over 100 million new users in just two days. This meteoric rise left industry giants stunned and scrambling to respond. Threads, created by Meta as an alternative to Twitter, launched on Friday morning. Within the first 24 hours, the app already had 30 million signups from disgruntled Twitter users. By Saturday night, Threads was boasting over 70 million users. And by Sunday evening, over 100 million people had created accounts.
This exponential growth is being attributed to Twitter's recent unpopular policy changes under new owner Elon Musk. The most controversial change was Twitter's decision to make tweets viewable only when users are logged in. This update outraged many users and sent them searching for alternatives. Threads was there at just the right moment to provide a familiar Twitter-like experience. The app allows 500 character posts, linking, media uploads, and algorithmic discovery feeds. And logging in with an Instagram account made adoption frictionless.
In response to the sudden emergence of Threads as a competitor, Twitter has already reversed its login-only tweet policy. But the damage may be done, as momentum continues to build behind Threads. It remains to be seen whether Threads can retain its new users in the long run. But for now, Meta seems to have landed a major win, dealing a blow to both Twitter and Elon Musk. The social media landscape is shifting rapidly, and the rivalry between these platforms is poised to reshape the industry.