On July 5th, Facebook and Instagram's parent company, Meta, permanently released Threads, which has now been unofficially named the “Twitter Killer.” And while Twitter has been on a downward spiral for years, this new platform may just be the nail in Elon Musk’s social media coffin.

Only three months after it was first announced, Threads received a whopping 5 million sign-ups in the first four hours alone. After one week it amassed a total of 109 million users, making it the most rapidly downloaded app of all time. To put all that into perspective, Instagram also amassed 110 million followers in 2013… three years after its creation!

What is Threads? 

According to Meta, Threads is designed to be a space "where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow.”

The free, text-based app allows users to share updates (including photos, videos, GIFs, etc.), interact with each other, and re-share content. While acting functionally like Twitter, I like to think of Threads as a giant group chat due to its witty, fast-paced nature and casual style. Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has even stressed that one of the key differences between Threads and Twitter is their focus on “kindness” and being “friendly.” 

The Launch

You need an Instagram account to join Threads. While this may seem like a ploy to increase usership of their marquee platform, this was actually an intentional move by Meta to ease the user transition experience while downloading Threads.

Instagram users were prompted on launch day to create their account, which is linked to their Instagram account. In fact, Instagram is temporarily showing badges in a person’s bio with a rank of how early you registered for the app, a genius marketing activation focused on the consumer psychology of conformity (a.k.a. FOMO.)

Users are also able to seamlessly transition their information between Instagram and Threads, including log-in credentials, username, bio, and more. You can even follow all the accounts you already follow on Instagram in a single click! 

Brands, Celebrities, and More!

Within moments, brands, celebrities, and influencers flocked to Threads, sharing quite literally whatever was on their mind. While many were still learning how to navigate the new virtual environment, these early posts were some of my favorites, as the spirit of experimentation and new opportunity filled the (virtual) air! 

Some of the biggest names in Hollywood, music, and beyond are now avid users of the platform, like Oprah, Jennifer Lopez, and Kim Kardashian. Even brands like Red Bull, Netflix, and NPR are flocking to the new alternative to Twitter, which in a study by Website Planet already shows eight times more engagement than its competitor.

Note: There is currently no advertising available on Threads. However, it is most likely inevitable over the coming months.

What’s Missing?

Threads does not currently offer direct messaging, hashtags, or trending stories. Will this be coming in an update? Or is this another way Threads is differentiating itself from its competitor, Twitter?

There is also no ability to divide the accounts you follow into lists or to view posts in your feed chronologically. Personally, I find this to make the user experience a bit chaotic. And while I find this charming and a nice shake-up from other platforms for the time being, I’m curious to see when that appeal wears off.

Finally, there is currently no web-based version of Threads. 

The Future of Threads

While Meta has been very vocal about their plans for future Threads updates, they have yet to disclose exactly what those updates will be. However, they have shared a general statement, saying ““a number of new features to help you continue to discover threads and creators you’re interested in, including improved recommendations in feed and a more robust search function that makes it easier to follow topics and trends in real time.”

So, one big question remains… Will those 109 million users stay? Is this an Icarus situation where we can expect Threads to fly high quickly, only to come crashing back down after the newness wears off? Only time will tell.

Meta will need to be proactive, inventive, and fast in transforming Threads into an app that people will come back to, as opposed to a gimmick lost to the inevitable 2023 pop culture round-up. But, in the meantime, I’d encourage you to join, take a look around, and enjoy what could potentially be the start of a new era!