The dust is finally settling for Instagram's new app Threads, which was launched on the 05/07/23. Since then it has amassed 109 million downloads, which is the fastest any app as grown its user base in the span of 2 weeks. Needless to say, the rush craze to download this app was all down to Instagrams aggressive marketing tactics.
The Threads app has been actively marketed to Instagram users once they open the Instagram app. With Instagram having roughly 1.628 billion users as of April 2023, there are 1.519 billion Instagram users who have opted not to download Threads yet.
The difference between Twitter and Threads
While both Twitter and Threads are social media platforms they have very different value propositions. Twitter is classed as a live news, sports and chat social media platform. You've also got Twitter Space that acts like a Podcast, and several other value propositions that makes Twitter unique.
On the other hand Threads is just your typical text chat app with a social media twist. One could describe it as a WhatsApp chat group which the whole world can access, but wrapped in a Twitter like User Interface. Which is the very reason Twitter threatened to sue Meta because the UI for their chat function is quite similar to Twitter. The only difference is that text posts on Threads can be 500 characters long compared to Twitter's 280 characters for non paying users. Yes, if you are willing to part way with your hard earned £11/month for a Twitter Blue subscription then you can post up to 10,000 characters.
Algorithm difference
Threads is still new so there is no way to accurately say how their algorithm works. If you weren't getting engagement on Instagram you won't be getting engagement on Threads either.
Twitter's algorithm is complex and Elon Musk is constantly tweaking it to favour paying Twitter users, that is, Twitter Blue subscribers. When we used Twitter Blue last, we couldn't see any difference in engagement. The only two benefits we got from Twitter Blue were the ability to edit tweets and a longer character limit for text posts.
Conclusion
Contrary to the viral messages going around that Threads would be the death of Twitter, Twitter has shown growth in active users. Pressure is not on Twitter but on Threads to prove that they can actually compete with the big social media guns.
So to Threads we say, a 109 million downloads then what? There are people with apps on their phone they haven't used in years. What is the actual activity usage of Threads?
To Twitter we say, up your game or eventually you will become redundant. There is Mastodon and Threads out there. Others will come searching for a piece of the pie, it is only a matter of time.