There's a social media war going on between Meta, Elon Musk, Twitter and Mark Zuckerberg. Instagram's new social media platform, Threads, has exploded onto the stage with a compelling narrative of adoption and engagement. Launched about 5 days ago, Threads has already attracted about 100 million users and it's growing. This accomplishment propels Threads into an elite bracket.
Far beyond ChatGPT, which took a full two months to amass a comparable user base, it's evident that Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, has scored a significant victory, with Threads strategically launched amid a tumultuous period for Twitter. And the success of Threads isn't merely a question of user numbers. A platform is experiencing A tremendous surge in user engagement. A flurry of posts on diverse topics suggests that lively conversation and interaction.
Is at the heart of Threads burgeoning user base now. This activity defies initial expectations from industry insiders who predicted A slowdown after the app crossed 10 million downloads within the first seven hours of its launch. Now the thriving popularity of Threads has been achieved despite the fact it is not yet globally available. Not available in the European Union market due to regulatory
constraints. Now the prospect of future growth though once Threads finally debuts in the market. Is huge and we're going to get more in depth on this in just a moment, so please stick around now. For potential Threads users, it's important to be aware of the app's deep integration with Instagram. This link is so strong that the deletion of a Threads account also requires the deletion of a connected Instagram profile.
This aspect could certainly benefit from revision to allow for more user autonomy and flexibility while maintaining the connectivity that makes Threads so appealing. And I guess they're making a new edit button where you can delete your Threads account while still maintaining your Instagram account now. Threads accelerated growth trajectory is undeniably impressive. So much so, the platform has given birth to a new sort of language in the realm of social media.
The act of engaging conversation on threads has been dubbed threading by its young demographic, and this is an example of the cultural impact that Threads has already made threads best in the glow of early success. The platform, highly linked to Instagram, still in its infancy, is ripe with promise for the future.
Android users in particular can be part of this forward momentum through the beta program available on Google Play Store, offering them a glimpse into the platform's evolutionary trajectory. In any beta testing phase, users should be prepared for instability or unusual behavior. Things might break, and despite these issues, participation in the beta program could offer a generally positive user experience for those that are in it.
Our upcoming features for Threads include a personalized feed option showing only followed accounts, enhanced account deletion flexibility, post search and editing capabilities, language translations, hashtags, and support for multiple accounts. And I believe the Twitter killer here could be if the edit button for free the house you have to pay right now on Twitter to edit a tweet, and if Threads does this for free. There's no turning back.
They gotta go all in. And these forthcoming enhancements signal the trajectory of threads to becoming more thought out and comprehensive social media platform. Now the success story of threads raises a significant question. Will these early adopters become long term, engaged users? Early engagement data seems encouraging but not quite at par with Twitter's user dynamism.
The report from The Verge disclosed that two days after Threads launched, the platform's 30 million users had posted more than 95 million times and shared 190,000,000 likes. This is impressive, yet it pales in comparison to Twitter users who tweet 500,000,000 times per day in 2022. So Adam Masri, head of Instagram, stated that Threads isn't trying to replace Twitter, though.
Instead, it aims to create a unique space for Instagram communities who never fully integrated with Twitter, as well as those on other platforms seeking more civil spaces for discourse. Meta strategy, it seems, is to attract a portion of Twitter's audience while creating a more advertising friendly platform with Twitter and this out. The meta strategy, it seems, is to attract a portion of Twitter's audience while creating a more advertiser
friendly platform with threads. This involves curating an environment that does not amplify divisive content. Now, in Masri's vision, Twitter and Threads aren't mutually exclusive. They coexist in the digital world, each trying to increase user engagement and advertising revenue. Users will ultimately decide what platforms they like better, or whether they might require both platforms for different reasons. And also for different audiences.
And while Twitter may remain a source for news, threads could emerge as a preferred platform for indepth conversations and more friendly banter. A comparative study conducted by Alex Stamos, director of the Stanford Internet Observatory, revealed an intriguing trend though. Despite having fewer followers on threads, Stamos has post guarded more engagement on threads than on Twitter.
This observation suggests that if Twitter users begin to recognize deeper, more meaningful conversations occurring on threads, Twitter's engagement could face a significant threat. The most substantial challenge to Twitter's user engagement seems to stem from within the platform. Mashable recently reported that Twitter has begun restricting previously free features to paid
subscribers. Now this shift has generated uncertainty among its predominantly free users, effectively pushing them either subscribe or consider alternative platforms like Threads. Now, threads operating similarly to Twitter and offering seamless integration with Instagram followers could present a lucrative alternative to the scrumpled Twitter's users. Threads commitment to actively responding to user feedback and continuously adding features based on this feedback could
bolster the platform's appeal. The upcoming edition of popular Twitter features such as hashtags and search functions, confirmed by Mossery, only strengthens the attractiveness of people wanting to go over the threads. So in contrast to Threads responsive approach, Twitter's executive Yucarino remains confident of Twitter's unique
and irreplaceable status. Despite this, the increasing traction of threads and focus on user feedback in the planned feature enhancements all point towards an increasingly dynamic and competitive social media landscape in the future. Now threads early success is full of potential and these platforms will be battling for a while to get user engagement and more users on their platforms. Strategic timing, engaging content and ambitious future plans show the Threads is in it
for the long haul. We're in it for the long haul too. And we'll be here for all the Threads versus Twitter engagement here on this podcast. So please take a second and hit the subscribe or follow button on whatever podcast platform that you're on right now. I greatly appreciate it helps out the show tremendously. So thank you so much for doing that and also thank you for spending your time here with me today.
I do appreciate that. And please, take care of yourselves and each other, and I'll see you in the next one.