Aka EkeneHighlights
– Meta Platforms’ Twitter competitor, Threads, achieved a remarkable milestone by surpassing ChatGPT as the fastest-growing online platform to reach 100 million sign-ups within just five days of its launch.
– Threads’ rapid user growth has been fueled by organic demand, attracting celebrities, politicians, and other notable figures and posing a serious threat to Elon Musk’s microblogging app, Twitter.
– While Threads’ accomplishment is impressive, it still has a significant gap to close to match Twitter’s nearly 240 million monetizable daily active users, as revealed in the company’s last public disclosure.
Introduction
In a remarkable feat of rapid user acquisition, Meta Platforms’ Twitter competitor, Threads, has achieved the milestone of 100 million sign-ups within a mere five days of its launch. This unprecedented success has positioned Threads as the fastest-growing online platform to attain such a substantial user base, effectively surpassing the previous record held by ChatGPT.
Threads’ Astonishing Growth
Since its debut last Wednesday, Threads has consistently broken records in terms of user growth, captivating the attention of celebrities, politicians, and other notable figures. Analysts regard this platform as the first formidable challenger to Elon Musk’s microblogging app, rendering it a significant threat to the reigning champion.
Remarkably, the staggering user influx experienced by Threads can be attributed largely to organic demand, with minimal promotional efforts employed thus far. In an announcement on Threads, CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed his astonishment at the platform’s meteoric rise to 100 million users.
Surpassing ChatGPT’s Achievement
Threads’ achievement of reaching 100 million users in such a brief span of time surpasses the previous record set by ChatGPT. Owned by OpenAI, ChatGPT garnered the title of the fastest-growing consumer application in history approximately two months after its launch, as confirmed by a UBS study conducted in January. However, the ascendency of Threads has now eclipsed this accomplishment.
READ ALSO: Meta’s Threads App: How To Sign Up, All You Need To Know
Closing the Gap, but a Long Way to Go
Despite its remarkable feat, Threads still has substantial ground to cover to match the user base of Twitter. As of July of the previous year, Twitter boasted nearly 240 million monetizable daily active users, as revealed in its last public disclosure prior to Musk’s takeover. Thus, while Threads’ rapid growth is undeniably impressive, it still trails behind Twitter’s colossal user count.
Legal Tensions and Resemblance to Twitter
In response to Threads’ emergence, Twitter has resorted to threats of legal action against Meta, alleging the unauthorized utilization of trade secrets and other confidential information in the development of Threads. However, legal experts suggest that substantiating such claims may pose a considerable challenge.
Threads, in its essence, bears a striking resemblance to Twitter, as do several other recently emerging social media platforms. This trend is a response to users’ dissatisfaction with Musk’s management of the service, prompting the creation of alternatives. Threads facilitates posts of up to 500 characters, accommodating links, photos, and videos of up to 5 minutes in duration.
Areas for Improvement
Despite its promising start, Threads currently lacks certain key features. Notably, it does not include a direct messaging function and lacks a desktop version, features that are relied upon by specific user groups such as businesses and organizations. Furthermore, the absence of hashtags and keyword search functions restricts its appeal to advertisers and diminishes its usefulness as a real-time event tracker, a role frequently fulfilled on Twitter.
Capitalizing on Twitter’s Turmoil
The recent turmoil surrounding Twitter, including the implementation of limitations on the visibility of users’ tweets, may inadvertently work to Threads’ advantage. Analysts suggest that these developments could attract both users and advertisers to the emerging platform.
Monetization Considerations and Purpose
Currently, the Threads app is devoid of advertisements. Zuckerberg has stated that the company will only contemplate monetization strategies once a clear path to attaining 1 billion users is established. Additionally, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram at Meta, emphasized that Threads is not intended to replace Twitter. Instead, it aims to focus on lighter subjects such as sports, music, fashion, and design. However, Mosseri acknowledged the inevitability of politics and hard news infiltrating Threads, posing a challenge for an app positioning itself as a “friendly” option for public discourse online.
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