Meta’s new Twitter competitor, Threads, has seen a remarkable surge in signups on its first day. Within just two hours of its launch on the App Store, Threads garnered over two million signups, indicating strong early interest from users. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged the milestone on his own Threads account, further boosting its visibility.
Threads was initially available for “pre-order” on iOS, with a prominent cross-promotion on Instagram. The app is closely integrated with Instagram, and Instagram profiles now display a Threads user number, providing transparency and real-time updates on the growing user base.
With Twitter facing challenges and implementing rate limits, there is a significant demand for an alternative platform. While Mastodon and Bluesky have garnered attention, they each come with their own compromises. Mastodon has an intimidating sign-up process and uncertainties surrounding the fediverse, while Bluesky has raised concerns about moderation and its ties to Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.
Zuckerberg, who tweeted for the first time in over a decade, expressed his enthusiasm for Threads. As Twitter struggles and other potential successor apps fail to consolidate its user base, Threads has the potential to attract significant engagement.
While getting users to sign up is one thing, retaining their engagement is another challenge. Threads deviates from Twitter’s pure chronological feed, relying on algorithms to keep users hooked. However, the absence of a clutter-free timeline is a drawback, as many Twitter knockoffs face similar compromises.
Despite the initial limitations, it is still early days for Threads. The team has promised integration with the fediverse, which contradicts Meta’s usual walled-garden approach. Whether Threads will offer users more freedom in choosing the content they see remains to be seen as the platform evolves.
