For years, it seemed like Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, had lost its viral-growth momentum. Its flagship products had reached such massive user bases that the rate of user acquisition was slowing down. Moreover, Meta had become a symbol of the negative aspects of modern social media and the US tech industry. However, Meta's latest venture, Threads, a service that can be best described as a straightforward competitor to Twitter, defied expectations and quickly gained traction. Within just four days of its launch, Threads amassed an impressive 100 million users.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has always had a keen eye for acquiring, copying, or overwhelming rival social media products. His desire to take on Twitter has been apparent for years and, in fact, he even attempted to purchase the platform for $500 million back in 2008. However, his efforts were unsuccessful. Nonetheless, Zuckerberg has Elon Musk to thank for revitalizing his competitive spirit with Threads. Since Musk took over Twitter in October, his rash decisions have alienated many of its core users, creating an opportunity for alternative platforms like Bluesky and Mastodon. However, it was Threads that finally managed to achieve significant scale and popularity. With the advantage of being the world's largest social media company, Meta leveraged the existing user base of Instagram, which boasts 2 billion global users. This allowed Threads users to seamlessly transition into the new platform without the usual hurdles of acquiring a new username or finding people to follow.
Meta also possessed the necessary infrastructure to handle the sudden influx of users that often accompanies success in the social media realm. Twitter, on the other hand, has faced periodic technical issues since Musk's takeover. In the days leading up to the launch of Threads, Twitter even imposed limits on the number of posts users could view each day, citing data scraping concerns. This led to a surge in traffic for Bluesky, which struggled to handle the increased load on its servers. In contrast, Threads, which now boasts over 100 times the number of users as Bluesky, experienced no such technical difficulties.
While Zuckerberg revels in his moment of triumph, others have been questioning the implications of consolidation in the consumer internet industry. If Threads continues on its path of success and becomes a de facto replacement for Twitter, backlash could ensue. Meta would not only gain access to even more user data but also further solidify its power in online advertising and influence how people experience and behave in the digital world.
Meta is making it clear that Threads is not intended to be Twitter 2.0. Instagram's head, Adam Mosseri, emphasized that the product will not encourage politics or news content, as they do not provide meaningful engagement or revenue. This sets Threads apart from Twitter, which has been known as a hub for news junkies and political discourse. However, Threads presents Twitter users with a short-term solution to their problems while simultaneously solving a dilemma for Meta. The company's ventures into the metaverse and potential acquisitions face obstacles, such as antitrust regulations. However, analysts predict that Threads could generate $8 billion in advertising revenue by 2025. Zuckerberg's target is to reach 1 billion users on Threads, surpassing Twitter's missed opportunity to do the same.
Meta has also addressed concerns about monopolizing social media by building Threads using ActivityPub, the same open system used by Bluesky and Mastodon. This means that, eventually, the app will be able to communicate with these platforms and users will be able to transfer their Threads followers elsewhere. Instagram's product leader, Connor Hayes, states that users can think of their Threads audience as portable to other apps.
Meta's vision for the future aligns with those of startups striving to create a more interconnected social media ecosystem, akin to email, where different platforms can communicate seamlessly and users have the freedom to switch services easily. However, champions of the open-network vision remain skeptical about Meta's true intentions. The ActivityPub community fears that Meta could capture and dominate, as it has done in the past. They believe that Meta should prove its commitment to decentralization before receiving any credit. Presently, Meta has not provided a timeline for enabling Threads to work with other services, leaving users in the dark about data control and connectivity. Thus, some argue that Threads does not feel decentralized at all.
As the success of Threads continues, it remains to be seen whether Meta will uphold its promise of supporting interoperability and decentralization, or if it will become another behemoth in the social media landscape.