After a wildly successful first few days, Threads’ popularity has waned in the weeks since Meta launched its challenge to Twitter, which lives on despite its problems. The average amount of time people spend on Threads daily has plummeted more than 75 percent since the platform made a rock star debut on July 6, according to data from Sensor Tower, a market analysis firm.
Threads was quickly billed as a potential death knell for Twitter, a platform that has tumbled into chaos under the leadership of mercurial tycoon Elon Musk.
The launch saw sign-ups of more than 100 million users in less than five days, smashing the record of AI tool ChatGPT for the fastest-growing consumer app and creating relief and excitement amongst early adopters fleeing Twitter. But weeks later, Threads has since seen a “material decline in new sign-ups,” Sensor Tower said.
Twitter continues to dominate its space as a platform for online comment and news, and Musk “would have to completely destroy it” to drive away its audience for good, according to Silicon Valley investor and analyst Jeremiah Owyang. Will Threads kill Twitter? Absolutely not. It’s just not equivalent,” he said.
Threads went live on Apple and Android app stores in 100 countries at its launch, though it is not available in Europe because parent company Meta is unsure how to navigate the European Union’s data privacy legislation.
Twitter is thought to have around 200 million regular users but it has suffered repeated technical failures since Tesla tycoon Musk bought the platform last year and sacked much of its staff.
Musk, also the boss of SpaceX, has alienated users by introducing charges for previously free services and allowing banned right-wing accounts back on the platform. There is little doubt that Threads had a major leg up compared to other wannabe Twitter alternatives.
Several rivals have emerged but most are niche platforms without the capacity to grow at the necessary scale to dethrone Twitter. But Meta was able to easily prompt Instagram users to start Threads accounts, tapping into a base of at least a billion users at the image-focused social network
Source: eNCA
In other news – Sizwe Dhlomo Claims to Have Never Drank Alcohol Before
Sizwe Dhlomo says he is not a fan of alcoholic drinks. The radio personality made this known while responding to a fan’s question about alcohol. “@SizweDhlomo how can you advise a young man in his 20s who just wants to cut off alcohol?” the fans asked.
Reacting to the question, Sizwe gave a response that some people labeled untrue. Dhlomo says he’s never touched alcohol, but he will like to know why people drink alcohol. Learn more
