Why Threads Might Not Be Able to Dethrone Twitter: A Closer Look
If you were hoping for a showdown between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but all you’re getting is a social media battle. For now. And in today’s snapshots, we’ll tell you why it won’t be easy to determine the winner.
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Story 15 years ago, Zuckerberg needed Twitter.
Yes, he tried a few times to acquire the Bird app. But it never worked out. And then he got busy acquiring and creating other things like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Meta. So, the idea of Twitter was left on the back burner.
Until… when Zuckerberg launched Threads to compete with Musk.
A Closer Look
Now, if the name rings a bell, it’s only because Threads is a direct reference to Twitter. You create a thread when you string together a group of tweets. So yes, it’s quite intriguing.
But can Threads really disrupt Twitter’s dominance in the social tech-based app world?
Well, in the past few months (and years), we’ve seen some Twitter alternatives emerge. We had Mastodon, which gained popularity for a while when Musk took over Twitter. But then it slowly lost users. We have our own indigenous app called Koo in India. It’s creating a buzz in some parts of the world, but its daily user count reached 4 million, just half of what Twitter achieved. It’s plausible – maybe the cleanest-looking version of Twitter. But so far, no one is really talking about it. And now we have the ex-Twitter CEO supported Bluesky, but the reviews haven’t exactly inspired much confidence.
And the pattern remains the same. Apps make noise in the beginning. People think they’ll present tough competition to Twitter. And then the hype dies down. So far, no app has really gained significant traction to snatch users from Twitter.
Why Threads Might Not Be Able to Dethrone Twitter: A Closer Look
But everyone believes that Threads could be the real deal. Why are you asking?
Simply because Zuckerberg is integrating it tightly with Instagram. You see, there are nearly 2.5 billion monthly active users in the photo-sharing network. That’s a quarter of the world’s population. The network effect is immense. Think of Instagram as a big party with the most popular people in the world. You want to be there because everyone else is already there. You can see what your friends are up to. You can keep an eye on your favorite celebrities’ activities. The network effect adds value to your digital social life. It keeps you informed.
And the beauty is, Threads doesn’t need to build its user network from scratch. Unlike other ‘me too’ apps. It just needs to find a way to transfer some of Instagram’s users. Maybe a simple notification that tells you one of your friends or someone you follow on the photo-sharing app has posted their unfiltered thoughts on Threads. A subtle hint to steer the herd in a new direction.
And that’s the biggest advantage of Threads’ existing network. Mind you, within its first day, it already had 30 million sign-ups.
So yes, you can see why people are already calling it the Twitter killer.
Now, all this sounds straightforward on paper. But will it really work? Or will Threads join the graveyard of failed Twitter clones?
Well, honestly, we don’t know for sure. And we don’t want to bet against Jack. But it’s possible, just possible, that Threads could fall short of surpassing Twitter.
Just listen to our story, okay?
To begin with, let’s first take a look at Instagram’s history of copying ideas.
TikTok, the copycat reels. Surely, Zuckerberg says people now spend 25% more time on the app. But last year, people were still spending nearly 200 million hours on TikTok daily, while reels only managed 17.6 million hours. TikTok still reigns supreme in the short video realm.
Then there was the disappearing Stories feature – something that Snapchat originally started. Surely, it has worked wonders for the company, but it hasn’t killed Snapchat. Snap innovated, and they’re still performing well.
Besides, Instagram had the ‘Clear Story’ feature. It got rid of the BeReal concept, which encouraged users to share one unfiltered photo per day. It combines both front and back photos together. And BeReal is still around. Maybe it didn’t gain as much virality, but that’s not because Instagram has eaten its lunch.
In short, it doesn’t seem like Instagram has killed off all the people it copied.
Hold on. But Twitter is different, you say. Bird app hasn’t been doing well since Musk took over. Users are falling out of love with the app, gradually moving away. Advertisers are leaving in large numbers, and Twitter’s ad revenue could decline by 28% compared to last year. And there seems to be a change in the rules every week. For example, there was a spat.