Twitter challenger Threads struggles for traction
- The average amount of time people spend on Threads daily has plummeted more than 75 per cent since its debut earlier this month
- Threads needs to foster creators to engage users, and find its own identity separate from Instagram and Twitter, analysts say
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 per cent 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 fastest-growing consumer app and creating relief and excitement among early adopters fleeing Twitter.
“I actually closed down my Twitter account after starting Threads,” said Brooklyn resident Lauren Brose, head of marketing at a tech start-up.
“I used to love Twitter. After Elon Musk took over Twitter, I found that the entire environment just changed completely.”
But weeks later, Threads has since seen a “material decline in new sign-ups”, Sensor Tower said.