Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / X (Formerly known as Twitter ) Declining while Metas Threads gains traction

Transcript

X (Formerly known as Twitter ) Declining while Metas Threads gains traction · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hi everybody and welcome back to the show.
• 0:04
  Today we're going to talk about the resurgence of Meta's threads
• 0:09
  and the waning influence of the app once known as Twitter.
• 0:13
  Not Just X Threads was initially released to much fanfare, but
• 0:18
  couldn't hold on to its user base.
• 0:20
  Now with a whopping 260 million downloads, it's making a
• 0:24
  comeback. On the flip side, X is losing
• 0:28
  its luster and experience a significant decline in users.
• 0:32
  Now threads took off like a rocket at launch, amassing a
• 0:35
  record number of initial downloads.
• 0:38
  Yet its glitzy start was short lived as users began to drift
• 0:41
  away, unimpressed by the app's limited features.
• 0:45
  Not one to back down from a challenge meta, CEO Mark
• 0:48
  Zuckerberg committed to making Threads a more feature rich
• 0:51
  platform. His promise was to inject life
• 0:54
  into the app, claiming it was far from being in its final
• 0:57
  state. Now in line with Uck's pledge,
• 1:00
  threads underwent a transformation.
• 1:02
  The team launched significant updates, including a web version
• 1:05
  and keyword search, alongside sodler elements like Instagram
• 1:09
  tagging and Bell notifications for individual thread updates.
• 1:14
  Now the changes had an immediate impact.
• 1:16
  Threads began to claw back some of its lost ground, hosting 33
• 1:20
  million daily active users and 120 million monthly active
• 1:24
  users, according to Apptopia's latest data.
• 1:27
  And user retention improved remarkably, too, signalling
• 1:30
  Threads return to prominence. Now, while Threads is surging
• 1:34
  back to life, the same can't be said for X.
• 1:38
  The platform has experienced a 12% decline in daily active
• 1:42
  users and a 28% drop in new downloads since July.
• 1:46
  Now, the decline isn't limited to the US, though.
• 1:49
  It's a worldwide phenomenon. X is losing traction across the
• 1:53
  globe, undermining its reputation as an international
• 1:56
  social media hub. And web traffic metrics
• 1:59
  reinforce this town. In the US alone, X has seen a
• 2:03
  15% drop in web traffic, a sign that's pretty ominous for any
• 2:09
  online platform. And the exact reason for this
• 2:11
  nose dive remains elusive. But the inconsistent changes
• 2:15
  under Elon Musk's stewardship are often cited as a
• 2:18
  contributing factor. Regardless, the future of X
• 2:22
  hangs in the balance now, though, the Threads team remains
• 2:26
  small, with about 50 people. They have metas, full backing
• 2:30
  and ambition, tons of money. And the organization is keen at
• 2:33
  integrating Threads more deeply into its larger social media
• 2:36
  ecosystem to realize this ambition.
• 2:39
  Threads has been given visible placement within Facebook and
• 2:43
  Instagram. Features like carousels in the
• 2:45
  feed and direct links are making Threads more accessible to users
• 2:50
  on both of those platforms. And in a recent Instagram
• 2:53
  Anniversary event in New York, Threads was given prime
• 2:56
  exposure, underscoring its significance and Meta's future
• 2:59
  plans. The idea is to familiarize the
• 3:02
  Instagram community with Threads, nudging them to adopt
• 3:05
  it with features like Poles in the pipeline, Threads is not
• 3:09
  slowing down. They're trying to catch up to
• 3:11
  the feature set that's on X, and the app is gearing up to become
• 3:15
  an even more versatile social media platform, taking
• 3:19
  integration with Meta's other apps to the next level.
• 3:23
  Although Threads is currently non monetized, that means you
• 3:26
  cannot make money with the Threads app.
• 3:29
  If you're a creator that's set to change.
• 3:31
  The app will soon become part of Meta's business suite, opening
• 3:36
  new revenue streams for creators, and recent code
• 3:40
  exploration reveals that Threads is getting ready to introduce
• 3:43
  advertising and paid partnership features.
• 3:46
  This is a nod to content creators, who are increasingly
• 3:49
  becoming a driving force in social media platforms.
• 3:52
  Financial analysts have already begun weighing in.
• 3:55
  According to Angelo Zeno, a senior analyst at CFRA, Threads
• 3:59
  has the potential to become a significant revenue engine for
• 4:02
  Meta if it maintains its current growth trajectory.
• 4:06
  And as Threads opens up monetization features, it also
• 4:10
  becomes an attractive platform for influencers and creators.
• 4:14
  It offers them a fresh platform to engage with their audience
• 4:17
  and monetize their reach, adding another layer of appeals to
• 4:21
  Threads. Now, as Threads finds its
• 4:23
  footing again, X continues to go down and falter.
• 4:28
  The contrast between the two couldn't be more apparent, and
• 4:31
  it's becoming clear which platform is capturing the
• 4:33
  public's imagination. Seems like Threads may be
• 4:37
  pulling ahead of Twitter, formerly Twitter and now X.
• 4:41
  And as Threads grows, it's also earning users trust, a critical
• 4:45
  factor in the longevity of any social media platform.
• 4:49
  Meanwhile, X seems to be losing the crucial asset of trust.
• 4:53
  Both Threads and X are at pivotal stages right now.
• 4:56
  One could go up, one could go down.
• 4:59
  It could differ depending on what platform makes the right
• 5:03
  moves, and with aggressive feature rollouts on one side and
• 5:06
  declining metrics on the other, the coming months will likely be
• 5:10
  decisive for both. Elon needs to turn Twitter slash
• 5:14
  X around and the tables have turned in the social media
• 5:17
  arena. Threads is gaining the kind of
• 5:19
  traction that X once had, but now seems to be losing.
• 5:22
  It's an intriguing reversal of fortune that merits close
• 5:26
  observation. Now I want to say thank you so
• 5:28
  much for listening to the show today.
• 5:30
  If you found this episode worthwhile, hit the subscribe or
• 5:33
  the follow button on your podcast platform.
• 5:35
  It's free and it takes just a second of your time.
• 5:39
  Remember, all of our episodes are 10 minutes or less designed
• 5:42
  to keep you informed without eating up your day.
• 5:45
  We do these every single day and they're all 10 minutes or less.
• 5:48
  So please hit the subscribe button.
• 5:50
  You'll get all the news, social media X, Twitter, Tesla, SpaceX,
• 5:56
  Boring Company, Neuralink, anything Elon Musk related in
• 6:00
  your download feed O until the next episode.
• 6:02
  I hope to see you tomorrow. Take care of yourselves and each
• 6:05
  other and I'll see you there.