Threads, an app owned by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has achieved a significant milestone by reaching 100 million users in less than a week. This surpasses the previous record set by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, making Threads the fastest-growing app ever. The app was launched in 100 countries on July 10th, although it is currently not available in Europe.
This accomplishment is particularly noteworthy as it comes in the midst of a growing rivalry between Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, and Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla. Zuckerberg has positioned Threads as a friendly alternative to Musk’s Twitter, further intensifying the competition between the two billionaires.
Zuckerberg expressed his excitement about the app’s success, revealing that Threads had garnered 10 million sign-ups within the first seven hours of its launch. This number doubled within just 24 hours, surpassing even Meta’s expectations.
Experts believe that this launch is part of Meta’s strategy to diversify its offerings and capture public attention, ultimately driving engagement and generating new revenue streams. Paolo Pescators, a researcher at PP Foresight, highlighted Meta’s advantage due to its large user base but remained uncertain about the potential success of other rival apps.
In a separate development, Twitter is reportedly considering legal action against Meta following the successful launch of Threads. Twitter’s attorney, Alex Spiro, has accused Meta of hiring former Twitter employees to develop its new app. However, Meta has denied these allegations.
The launch of Threads coincides with mounting criticism directed at Twitter for changes implemented by Musk, who took over as CEO in November of last year. These changes include laying off thousands of staff members, particularly in the content moderation team. Musk’s stance on Twitter’s moderation of hate speech and misinformation has also provoked controversy. Shortly after Musk’s takeover, previously banned accounts, including those of Donald Trump and Jordan Peterson, were reinstated.
Musk’s recent introduction of a tweet-read limit, where the maximum number of tweets available to read is locked behind a paywall, faced intense backlash from users. While Musk extended the read-limit due to user dissatisfaction, this move reflects his efforts to find new monetization streams for the social media platform.
Twitter is currently facing numerous challenges, including the controversial decision to restrict tweet visibility in order to increase revenue and combat data harvesting by emerging AI firms. Competitors like Meta’s Threads and Bluesky, backed by Twitter’s former CEO Jack Dorsey, are seizing the opportunity to attract dissatisfied Twitter users and establish their own niche in the market.
The impressive growth of Threads highlights the influence and potential of Meta in the social media landscape. With its ability to rapidly attract millions of users, it may indeed pose a considerable challenge to established platforms. However, the success of rival apps and the potential for another app to gain traction remains uncertain.
