Key takeaways:
- Threads, Meta's Twitter rival, has seen a 20% dip in daily active users despite rapid post-launch signups.
- Threads gained 30 million users within the first few hours of its launch and crossed 100 million after five days.
- Twitter has since reacted by rolling out a revenue-sharing programme for verified creators and filing a lawsuit against Threads.
Meta's Twitter clone, Threads, has experienced a 20% drop in the number of daily active users of the platform and a 50% decline — 20 minutes to 10 minutes — in the amount of time spent on the platform. This is according to data shared with CNBC by Sensor Tower, a marketing intelligence firm, which also reveals that the decline began on Saturday, July 15, 2023.
Twitter is not Threads only competition
Although Threads recorded 100 million signups in five days, it still has to fight for the attention of users from not only Twitter but other platforms like TikTok, and YouTube.
Unlike Threads, where users spend 10 minutes daily, Tweeters spend an average of 34 minutes. TikTok keeps users scrolling for almost 60 minutes, while YouTube keeps them for almost 50.
Twitter also just started sharing revenue with creators, a development that got many users declaring they will never leave the app. It is also suing Meta for poaching employees who allegedly shared Twitter's trade secrets.
Is Twitter more interesting?
Though data reveals the use of hate speech doubled after Musk took over Twitter, some users find the platform more interesting than Threads.
From news to dragging/cooking — Twitter lingo for calling out users on the platform — some people claim to enjoy Twitter's controversial and combative nature. And this is one of the things Threads does not want on its platform.
"The goal isn't to replace Twitter," said Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, "the goal is to create a public square for communities on Instagram that never really embraced Twitter and for communities on Twitter (and other platforms) that are interested in a less angry place for conversations, but not all of Twitter."
Mosseri says that politics and hard news will show up on Threads, like on Instagram, but they will not be encouraged.
It is still early days and we can't tell what will become of Threads. We've seen Instagram go from a platform for sharing moments with friends and family to one where we consume content from random strangers.
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If we go by Meta's history, Threads will tread the path of most profitability.
