Threads: a potential #TwitterKiller?
It’s unlikely to have escaped your attention that Threads, Meta’s new text-based social media platform, launched on 6th July. Reports indicate that Threads has already reached 100 million users (and counting) in less than a week. Pitched as a “rival” to Twitter, and even a potential “Twitter Killer”, we were intrigued to understand how Twitter users responded to the launch. We analysed English-language tweets mentioning or linking to Threads on Twitter between 5th and 10th July to find out.
Are Twitter users trying out Threads?
There were 1.5 million English-language tweets about Threads from 869K users in the 5-day period. More than half of the users talking about Threads directly stated that they had tried it out or shared a link to the app. J-Lo, Wiz Khalifa, Trevor Noah and George Takei were amongst the high-profile users tweeting links to their new Thread profiles. Media outlets including The Economist, NDTV, Bloomberg and Wired also announced having Thread accounts. Audience profiling of those sharing links to Threads showed that these individuals were more likely to be engaged with centre-left political figures and media outlets than the typical Twitter user.
What do people like about the new app?
While 44% of people mentioning Threads talked about trying out the Threads app, indicating that they were not closed off to the new platform, only 4% expressed an explicitly positive opinion. The main plus points discussed were:
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Compliments about the experience of using the platform, such as the “vibe” and friendliness (69% of positive posts)
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It’s not Twitter - people are seeking alternatives due to dissatisfaction with recent user experience and/or concerns the platform will collapse (21% of positive posts)
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Moderation of “hate speech” (7% of positive posts)
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Desirable features including longer videos, high video quality, higher character limits, 10-image carousels (4% of positive posts)
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No advertising (yet) (2% of posts)
What are people’s concerns about the new app?
15% of those tweeting about Threads were critical of the app. There were four key areas of concern:
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Dislike of the link between Threads and Instagram (42% of negative posts)
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Fears of censorship (36% of negative posts)
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Data privacy (25% of negative posts)
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Missing desirable features (8% of negative posts)
What features would potential users like to see added?
The new app was subject to some criticism for missing key features. The most talked about was the lack of a desktop version of the app, particularly from those looking to use the site in a more professional capacity, such as journalists. Potential users also wanted to be able to have control over their feeds and were highly critical of the lack of a “following only” or chronological feed. 7% of posts criticising the current features pointed out that the app lacked accessibility features like alt text.
Is Threads a Twitter Killer?
Our analysis indicates that social media platform use could become increasingly separated by political views, meaning that those with moderate or left of centre views move away from Twitter. Elon Musk regularly pitches the platform as the bastion of “free speech”. However, some people have alleged that he has allowed “hate speech” and false information to thrive. On the other hand, those on the political right were quick to accuse Meta of censorship of conservative voices on Threads. If this divide continues to grow, users will no longer just be in algorithmic “filter bubbles” online, instead they will actively choose to socialise in totally separate online spaces to those with different views, a trend that has already begun with platforms like Truth Social.
There were also indications that people want different online spaces for different functions, something Meta may have not taken into consideration when developing Threads. The link between Instagram and Threads was a sticking point for many users. Some were concerned about not being able to delete one account without deleting the other, or the potential for getting banned across both platforms. However, there was also a clear indication that people seeking an alternative to the Twitter community do not necessarily want it to be populated with their Instagram followers, which are more likely to be “in real life” family and friends.
Will Threads be the platform that those dissatisfied with Twitter move to? This is less clear. Meta has some way to go to meet people’s expectations on desirable app features. There is a clear preference expressed for user control over the feed, and potential users are also calling for DMs, desktop access and keyword search to be added to improve the user experience. Meta has the opportunity to build on the app features in response to this feedback, and in doing so may win over users, particularly if it retains the favoured “no advertising” stance. However, by releasing a “basic” and for some “rushed” version of Threads, has Meta missed the chance to wow potential users with a good first impression?
Perhaps a greater hurdle for Meta to overcome is its reputation on data privacy; users from across the political spectrum expressed concern about the information that could harvested by Threads app and how it would be used.
If you want to know more about our findings on the launch of Threads, or discuss how we can help you understand societal and consumer trends through our social media insights research, please get in touch.