Threads Surpasses ChatGPT with 100 Million Users, Twitter Traffic Declines
Meta’s Threads app has achieved a significant milestone by reaching 100 million users in record time, surpassing ChatGPT’s previous record. The app gained traction quickly, aided by its integration with Instagram. Within two hours of its launch, Threads had acquired two million users. By Sunday, the user base shot up to 100 million, although it remains uncertain if the app can retain and engage users in the long run.
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, expressed his satisfaction with the organic demand for Threads, stating that the company had not yet implemented many promotions. He acknowledged that the launch success exceeded their expectations. The popularity of apps like Mastodon and BlueSky is dwarfed by the massive user base of Threads, making them less viable competitors to Twitter.
Adam Mosseri, the chief of Instagram, described the achievement of 100 million users as insurmountable and puzzling. He credited the success to the team’s mantra of Make it work, make it great, make it grow. Despite the rapid growth, Mosseri acknowledged that they did things out of order but assured users that they would improve the app further.
Analysts already predict that Threads will have 200 million daily active users by 2025, generating an additional $8 billion in annual revenue for Meta within the next two years. However, this remains a fraction of Meta’s overall revenue, which amounted to $117 billion last year and is projected to reach $156 billion in two years.
The fate of Twitter is uncertain, and it remains to be seen if the new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, or even shadow CEO Elon Musk, can turn it around. Yaccarino responded to the competition from Threads by emphasizing that the Twitter community is unmatched and cannot be replicated.
Elon Musk, not taking this competition lightly, had his attorney draft a letter accusing Meta of unlawfully misappropriating Twitter’s trade secrets. Musk claimed that Meta had hired former Twitter employees to develop Threads. However, Meta’s communications director, Andy Stone, denied the allegations, stating that no Threads engineer was a former Twitter employee.
On the day Threads reached 100 million users, Musk tweeted that users would find the app amusing, though it may also contain negative content. Musks’ tenure at Twitter has yet to yield positive financial results, as Twitter’s ad revenue reportedly dropped 40% year over year in the second quarter. The estimated 850,000 signups for Twitter Blue are unlikely to have a significant impact on the company’s earnings.
CloudFlare CEO Matthew Prince shared a traffic chart showing a decline in Twitter’s traffic while commenting that it is tanking. The active user base on Twitter appears to be smaller than last fall when Musk took over. Twitter recently disclosed to advertisers at the Cannes Lions conference that it now has roughly 535 million monetizable monthly active users, suggesting a change in reporting metrics to downplay the daily figure.
Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg believes that while Threads may not deliver a fatal blow to Twitter, its scale and resources make it another significant challenge. Twitter’s wounds, however, have largely been self-inflicted.
Please note: This AI-generated article has been edited for clarity and coherence.
