Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / The Social Media War has Begun: Twitter Vs. Threads
Transcript
- 0:00There's a social media war going on between Meta, Elon Musk,
- 0:05Twitter and Mark Zuckerberg. Instagram's new social media
- 0:10platform, Threads, has exploded onto the stage with a compelling
- 0:13narrative of adoption and engagement.
- 0:15Launched about 5 days ago, Threads has already attracted
- 0:19about 100 million users and it's growing.
- 0:22This accomplishment propels Threads into an elite bracket.
- 0:26Far beyond ChatGPT, which took a full two months to amass a
- 0:30comparable user base, it's evident that Meta, the company
- 0:33behind Facebook and Instagram, has scored a significant
- 0:36victory, with Threads strategically launched amid a
- 0:39tumultuous period for Twitter. And the success of Threads isn't
- 0:43merely a question of user numbers.
- 0:45A platform is experiencing A tremendous surge in user
- 0:48engagement. A flurry of posts on diverse
- 0:51topics suggests that lively conversation and interaction.
- 0:54Is at the heart of Threads burgeoning user base now.
- 0:57This activity defies initial expectations from industry
- 1:00insiders who predicted A slowdown after the app crossed
- 1:0410 million downloads within the first seven hours of its launch.
- 1:08Now the thriving popularity of Threads has been achieved
- 1:11despite the fact it is not yet globally available.
- 1:14Not available in the European Union market due to regulatory
- 1:17constraints. Now the prospect of future
- 1:20growth though once Threads finally debuts in the market.
- 1:23Is huge and we're going to get more in depth on this in just a
- 1:28moment, so please stick around now.
- 1:30For potential Threads users, it's important to be aware of
- 1:34the app's deep integration with Instagram.
- 1:37This link is so strong that the deletion of a Threads account
- 1:40also requires the deletion of a connected Instagram profile.
- 1:45This aspect could certainly benefit from revision to allow
- 1:48for more user autonomy and flexibility while maintaining
- 1:51the connectivity that makes Threads so appealing.
- 1:55And I guess they're making a new edit button where you can delete
- 1:59your Threads account while still maintaining your Instagram
- 2:02account now. Threads accelerated growth
- 2:04trajectory is undeniably impressive.
- 2:07So much so, the platform has given birth to a new sort of
- 2:10language in the realm of social media.
- 2:12The act of engaging conversation on threads has been dubbed
- 2:16threading by its young demographic, and this is an
- 2:18example of the cultural impact that Threads has already made
- 2:22threads best in the glow of early success.
- 2:25The platform, highly linked to Instagram, still in its infancy,
- 2:31is ripe with promise for the future.
- 2:33Android users in particular can be part of this forward momentum
- 2:37through the beta program available on Google Play Store,
- 2:40offering them a glimpse into the platform's evolutionary
- 2:43trajectory. In any beta testing phase, users
- 2:46should be prepared for instability or unusual behavior.
- 2:50Things might break, and despite these issues, participation in
- 2:54the beta program could offer a generally positive user
- 2:57experience for those that are in it.
- 3:00Our upcoming features for Threads include a personalized
- 3:03feed option showing only followed accounts, enhanced
- 3:06account deletion flexibility, post search and editing
- 3:09capabilities, language translations, hashtags, and
- 3:14support for multiple accounts. And I believe the Twitter killer
- 3:18here could be if the edit button for free the house you have to
- 3:23pay right now on Twitter to edit a tweet, and if Threads does
- 3:26this for free. There's no turning back.
- 3:29They gotta go all in. And these forthcoming
- 3:31enhancements signal the trajectory of threads to
- 3:34becoming more thought out and comprehensive social media
- 3:37platform. Now the success story of threads
- 3:40raises a significant question. Will these early adopters become
- 3:44long term, engaged users? Early engagement data seems
- 3:47encouraging but not quite at par with Twitter's user dynamism.
- 3:52The report from The Verge disclosed that two days after
- 3:55Threads launched, the platform's 30 million users had posted more
- 3:58than 95 million times and shared 190,000,000 likes.
- 4:03This is impressive, yet it pales in comparison to Twitter users
- 4:07who tweet 500,000,000 times per day in 2022.
- 4:12So Adam Masri, head of Instagram, stated that Threads
- 4:15isn't trying to replace Twitter, though.
- 4:17Instead, it aims to create a unique space for Instagram
- 4:19communities who never fully integrated with Twitter, as well
- 4:23as those on other platforms seeking more civil spaces for
- 4:26discourse. Meta strategy, it seems, is to
- 4:28attract a portion of Twitter's audience while creating a more
- 4:31advertising friendly platform with Twitter and this out.
- 4:36The meta strategy, it seems, is to attract a portion of
- 4:39Twitter's audience while creating a more advertiser
- 4:41friendly platform with threads. This involves curating an
- 4:45environment that does not amplify divisive content.
- 4:48Now, in Masri's vision, Twitter and Threads aren't mutually
- 4:51exclusive. They coexist in the digital
- 4:53world, each trying to increase user engagement and advertising
- 4:57revenue. Users will ultimately decide
- 5:00what platforms they like better, or whether they might require
- 5:03both platforms for different reasons.
- 5:06And also for different audiences.
- 5:08And while Twitter may remain a source for news, threads could
- 5:11emerge as a preferred platform for indepth conversations and
- 5:14more friendly banter. A comparative study conducted by
- 5:17Alex Stamos, director of the Stanford Internet Observatory,
- 5:21revealed an intriguing trend though.
- 5:22Despite having fewer followers on threads, Stamos has post
- 5:25guarded more engagement on threads than on Twitter.
- 5:28This observation suggests that if Twitter users begin to
- 5:31recognize deeper, more meaningful conversations
- 5:34occurring on threads, Twitter's engagement could face a
- 5:36significant threat. The most substantial challenge
- 5:39to Twitter's user engagement seems to stem from within the
- 5:42platform. Mashable recently reported that
- 5:44Twitter has begun restricting previously free features to paid
- 5:48subscribers. Now this shift has generated
- 5:51uncertainty among its predominantly free users,
- 5:53effectively pushing them either subscribe or consider
- 5:56alternative platforms like Threads.
- 5:58Now, threads operating similarly to Twitter and offering seamless
- 6:02integration with Instagram followers could present a
- 6:04lucrative alternative to the scrumpled Twitter's users.
- 6:08Threads commitment to actively responding to user feedback and
- 6:11continuously adding features based on this feedback could
- 6:14bolster the platform's appeal. The upcoming edition of popular
- 6:17Twitter features such as hashtags and search functions,
- 6:20confirmed by Mossery, only strengthens the attractiveness
- 6:24of people wanting to go over the threads.
- 6:27So in contrast to Threads responsive approach, Twitter's
- 6:29executive Yucarino remains confident of Twitter's unique
- 6:33and irreplaceable status. Despite this, the increasing
- 6:36traction of threads and focus on user feedback in the planned
- 6:39feature enhancements all point towards an increasingly dynamic
- 6:43and competitive social media landscape in the future.
- 6:46Now threads early success is full of potential and these
- 6:50platforms will be battling for a while to get user engagement and
- 6:54more users on their platforms. Strategic timing, engaging
- 6:58content and ambitious future plans show the Threads is in it
- 7:02for the long haul. We're in it for the long haul
- 7:04too. And we'll be here for all the
- 7:06Threads versus Twitter engagement here on this podcast.
- 7:10So please take a second and hit the subscribe or follow button
- 7:13on whatever podcast platform that you're on right now.
- 7:16I greatly appreciate it helps out the show tremendously.
- 7:19So thank you so much for doing that and also thank you for
- 7:21spending your time here with me today.
- 7:23I do appreciate that. And please, take care of
- 7:26yourselves and each other, and I'll see you in the next one.