Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has revealed that Threads, the newly launched social media platform meant to rival Twitter, has experienced a significant drop in its user base by more than half.
The platform saw a remarkable surge in popularity, amassing over 100 million users within the first five days of its launch earlier this month.
However, the numbers have since dwindled.
During a call with employees, as reported by Reuters news agency, Zuckerberg candidly acknowledged the decline in user numbers, stating, “If you have more than 100 million people sign up, ideally it would be awesome if all of them or even half of them stuck around. We’re not there yet.”
He attributed the dip in user retention to be a common phenomenon for new apps and platforms.
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Zuckerberg remains optimistic, expressing his belief that retention rates will improve over time as new features are added to the Threads app.
Threads, touted as a rival to Twitter, entered the social media arena with high expectations, but the reality has proven to be a challenge in sustaining its initial surge of users.
Threads Vs ‘X’ (Twitter) Vs TikTok, A Social Media War.
On July 5, 2023, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, owned by Mark Zuckerberg, released Threads, a social media platform aimed to rival ‘X’.
Threads made an explosive entry into the global scene, surpassing all expectations by amassing an impressive 1 million users within a mere 1.5 hours. CNN even labeled Threads as the potential “Twitter Killer.”
This response was hardly surprising, given the growing annoyance among ‘X’ users ever since Elon Musk took the reins. Threads was seen as a much-needed alternative. Initially, ‘X’ had sparked outrage by stripping users of their verification badges and imposing a steep $8 monthly fee to reinstate them. On top of that, limitations were placed on the number of posts users could view each day, all in response to what Musk claimed was excessive “data scraping.”
READ ALSO: Twitter Unveils New “X” Logo, Replacing Iconic Blue Bird.
However, ‘X’ quickly improved its branding in response to the intensifying rivalry.
In a bid to keep pace, they expanded their creator monetization offerings, including ads revenue sharing, allowing creators to earn from ad revenue generated by their content.
Twitter also underwent a major overhaul, rebranding itself with a new logo – “X”. Linda Yaccarino, Twitter’s new chief executive, expressed excitement about the rebranding, stating, “Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now ‘X’ will go further, transforming the global town square.”
Meanwhile, video streaming app TikTok has joined the fray by introducing text-only posts, providing users with an additional means of communication through written content.
READ ALSO: Twitter to pay Creators From Ad Revenue, amidst Ongoing Thread Rivalry
With this new feature, TikTok becomes the latest tech giant to challenge ‘X’, Elon Musk’s rebranded Twitter platform. In response to the competition, Twitter has abandoned its iconic blue bird logo, adopting a sleek black and white “X.”
Earlier this month, TikTok made another move to expand its offerings by launching a new music streaming service, TikTok Music, to rival popular platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. The service was first introduced in Brazil and Indonesia, aiming to further solidify TikTok’s position in the digital entertainment market.
The battle between Threads, ‘X’, and TikTok is shaping up to be a fierce contest among social media titans. As they continue to innovate and adapt to stay ahead, users can expect to see even more exciting developments in the world of social networking in the days to come.
Zuckerberg Speaks on Cage Fight with Elon Musk
Addressing a more lighthearted topic, Zuckerberg commented on his proposed cage fight with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla.
The two tech titans playfully suggested a fight in June, even discussing a potential venue in Las Vegas.
However, when questioned about the likelihood of the match happening during the call, Zuckerberg expressed uncertainty, stating, “I’m not sure if it’s going to come together.”
Meta Future Plans for Improvement
Meta’s recently launched social media platform, Threads, faced criticism for its limited functionality upon release.
However, the company has been actively working to address these concerns and has made significant updates to the platform since its launch.
Among the new features introduced are separate feeds for “following” and “for you,” providing users with more personalized content. Additionally, the scope for translating posts into various languages has been expanded, making the platform more accessible to a global audience.
Chris Cox, the Chief Product Officer at Meta, revealed that the company is now focused on incorporating more “retention-driving hooks” to encourage users to return to Threads regularly. One such approach includes the integration of Threads with Instagram, another platform owned by Meta. Users must have an Instagram account to sign up for Threads, allowing for greater interconnectedness between the two platforms.
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Moreover, during the internal call with employees, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, provided updates on the company’s ambitious project, the Metaverse.
The Metaverse aims to create a virtual reality world through augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology. Zuckerberg noted that the development progress is on track, but he anticipates that the Metaverse won’t become mainstream until the next decade.
While the Metaverse holds significant potential, concerns have arisen over the extensive resources invested in its development.
The Reality Labs division, responsible for creating VR headsets and related products for the Metaverse, has incurred multi-billion dollar losses.
Nonetheless, Meta’s overall financial performance remains robust, with the company recently reporting a profit of $7.79 billion in the last quarter.