Threads, the Meta social media platform I didn't know I wanted or needed, is officially one year old and I'm still using it. That's quite an accomplishment.
Threads arrived on July 5, 2023, as a kind savior of social media. It didn’t do much, and owed much of its early success to Instagram, which helped grow membership by the millions. It had no desktop app, no GIFs, and the organization of your feed (or control) didn’t make much sense. But Threads was also clean, clear, and filled with so much positive sentiment that it could feel almost Pollyannaish.
As I wrote last year, it was the light in the growing darkness of X (formerly Twitter).
I haven’t stopped using X (Twitter). If you asked me what I spend my time on social media doing, I’d say 60% on Threads and 40% on X. I know many who have abandoned the latter platform because of what they see as the wild opinions of owner (and former CEO) Elon Musk and his support of trolls and truly hateful people and ideas. I go there because there’s still an undercurrent of real-time news and sentiment. It’s what Threads was missing at launch and, to a large extent, is still missing today.
Sure, threads introduced hashtags, but good luck finding trending hashtags. Instead, they serve as a simple way to ensure your thread is part of a trend and can be found in search, but there is no “trending hashtags” button (nor any “Trending” column).
For me, Threads has not replaced X. I wish it had, because the feeling I get after spending 10 minutes on that platform is one of dread.
Threads doesn't yet understand how to keep things fresh and relevant at the same time. In general, it shows you what the algorithm thinks is relevant to you. Finding out what others are talking about can be difficult for Threads.
Interaction, which was a sore point in the early threads, has improved. I've posted threads that have attracted hundreds of likes and shares – not many, but some, and that makes the threads seem more alive and, since I still need that validation, more engaging for me.
However, after a year, I still can’t say whether Threads shares X’s ability to drive social platform users to other places. I’m a writer, and I’ll be promoting my products on multiple platforms, including X. Even in its diminished state, X can still drive measurable traffic to other sites. People interact and consume on Threads, but it’s not clear whether anyone follows a link that leads somewhere. Is this a problem or a shortcoming of Threads? Not for most people, but for me it makes it a little less attractive as a marketing platform.
One feature Threads has added is a developer API that will allow sites to add Threads links into their apps and sites, and that will make publishing stories from multiple websites to the platform much easier. Will that change this equation? I don't know, at least not yet.
Growth bomb
Threads grew at a dizzying pace from the start and within days had over 100 million users. A year later, according to Mark Zuckerberg, it has 175 million monthly active users. That's not bad growth, but it's also an indication that the pace has slowed down a lot.
Those numbers don’t come close to matching those of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, which Meta owns. Each of those platforms boasts billions of users and has strong ad businesses to prove it. Threads is certainly a selling point for Meta. Can Zuck and Adam Mosseri, the CEO of Instagram and Threads, hang in there long enough for it to become a viable revenue generator? Neither executive seems in any hurry to add advertising or monetization to the platform, and for that I’m grateful; I’ll enjoy the ad-free experience while it lasts.
Threads hasn't replaced X for me. I wish it had, because the feeling I get when I spend 10 minutes on that platform is one of dread. There are moments of light, but when it turns dark, the posts feel terrible and sinister. Threads has bad news, too, but the feelings are still much lighter.
This may be because Mosseri and company still refuse to prioritize news on the platform. In doing so, they may be avoiding the battleground of strong, incendiary opinions. Those exist on Threads, too, but the algorithm doesn’t surface them very clearly.
Post by @lanceulanoff
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Threads gets it
It's nice to see Threads growing with new features like the desktop app, GIFs, polls, tags, search, post stats, and voice threads. Not all of these features are that useful, but I think Meta cares about Threads and pays attention to it. Part of that has to do with Zuckerberg and Mosseri's constant presence on the platform. Mosseri, in particular, will share updates and respond to complaints and comments.
Threads is aware of this, as it is now celebrating its first anniversary with custom icons that it will offer and allow you to use throughout the celebration period. I join in celebrating this milestone for Threads and am happy to accompany Meta as it slowly develops features and walks the fine line between supporting voices without fanning the flames of dissent.
Threads will probably never replace X/Twitter, but there's a good chance it won't have to as that dumpster fire of a platform burns to death.
