Hi everybody and welcome back to the show.
Today we're going to talk about the resurgence of Meta's threads
and the waning influence of the app once known as Twitter.
Not Just X Threads was initially released to much fanfare, but
couldn't hold on to its user base.
Now with a whopping 260 million downloads, it's making a
comeback. On the flip side, X is losing
its luster and experience a significant decline in users.
Now threads took off like a rocket at launch, amassing a
record number of initial downloads.
Yet its glitzy start was short lived as users began to drift
away, unimpressed by the app's limited features.
Not one to back down from a challenge meta, CEO Mark
Zuckerberg committed to making Threads a more feature rich
platform. His promise was to inject life
into the app, claiming it was far from being in its final
state. Now in line with Uck's pledge,
threads underwent a transformation.
The team launched significant updates, including a web version
and keyword search, alongside sodler elements like Instagram
tagging and Bell notifications for individual thread updates.
Now the changes had an immediate impact.
Threads began to claw back some of its lost ground, hosting 33
million daily active users and 120 million monthly active
users, according to Apptopia's latest data.
And user retention improved remarkably, too, signalling
Threads return to prominence. Now, while Threads is surging
back to life, the same can't be said for X.
The platform has experienced a 12% decline in daily active
users and a 28% drop in new downloads since July.
Now, the decline isn't limited to the US, though.
It's a worldwide phenomenon. X is losing traction across the
globe, undermining its reputation as an international
social media hub. And web traffic metrics
reinforce this town. In the US alone, X has seen a
15% drop in web traffic, a sign that's pretty ominous for any
online platform. And the exact reason for this
nose dive remains elusive. But the inconsistent changes
under Elon Musk's stewardship are often cited as a
contributing factor. Regardless, the future of X
hangs in the balance now, though, the Threads team remains
small, with about 50 people. They have metas, full backing
and ambition, tons of money. And the organization is keen at
integrating Threads more deeply into its larger social media
ecosystem to realize this ambition.
Threads has been given visible placement within Facebook and
Instagram. Features like carousels in the
feed and direct links are making Threads more accessible to users
on both of those platforms. And in a recent Instagram
Anniversary event in New York, Threads was given prime
exposure, underscoring its significance and Meta's future
plans. The idea is to familiarize the
Instagram community with Threads, nudging them to adopt
it with features like Poles in the pipeline, Threads is not
slowing down. They're trying to catch up to
the feature set that's on X, and the app is gearing up to become
an even more versatile social media platform, taking
integration with Meta's other apps to the next level.
Although Threads is currently non monetized, that means you
cannot make money with the Threads app.
If you're a creator that's set to change.
The app will soon become part of Meta's business suite, opening
new revenue streams for creators, and recent code
exploration reveals that Threads is getting ready to introduce
advertising and paid partnership features.
This is a nod to content creators, who are increasingly
becoming a driving force in social media platforms.
Financial analysts have already begun weighing in.
According to Angelo Zeno, a senior analyst at CFRA, Threads
has the potential to become a significant revenue engine for
Meta if it maintains its current growth trajectory.
And as Threads opens up monetization features, it also
becomes an attractive platform for influencers and creators.
It offers them a fresh platform to engage with their audience
and monetize their reach, adding another layer of appeals to
Threads. Now, as Threads finds its
footing again, X continues to go down and falter.
The contrast between the two couldn't be more apparent, and
it's becoming clear which platform is capturing the
public's imagination. Seems like Threads may be
pulling ahead of Twitter, formerly Twitter and now X.
And as Threads grows, it's also earning users trust, a critical
factor in the longevity of any social media platform.
Meanwhile, X seems to be losing the crucial asset of trust.
Both Threads and X are at pivotal stages right now.
One could go up, one could go down.
It could differ depending on what platform makes the right
moves, and with aggressive feature rollouts on one side and
declining metrics on the other, the coming months will likely be
decisive for both. Elon needs to turn Twitter slash
X around and the tables have turned in the social media
arena. Threads is gaining the kind of
traction that X once had, but now seems to be losing.
It's an intriguing reversal of fortune that merits close
observation. Now I want to say thank you so
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