A new social networking app was once created in the enormous online kingdom. Its name was Threads, and like its cousin Instagram, it first existed as an app. The Instagram team's creation, Threads, a product of Facebook's parent firm Meta Platforms Inc., had aspirations of dominating the social messaging market.
However, Threads was up against a particular problem right at the off. Some of the busiest content producers on the web couldn't understand why it chose to debut as an app-only platform. These creators were quite comfortable in their castles on platforms like Twitter, where they could easily share their thoughts and ideas with the world. The idea of shifting their creative endeavours to a new app without a web version seemed like a daunting quest.
However, Threads was adamant about leaving its impact on the social media world. Users had access to member profiles through a read-only experience it provided. It lacked the capability to post messages from the web, though, which was an important function. Because of this restriction, some prospective users were deterred from making Threads their primary website for content sharing. If Threads wanted to compete with the social media industry's behemoths, it recognized it had to alter its approach.
So, after giving it some thought and perhaps using a little magic, Threads decided to enter the online realm. With the addition of a web version that enabled message posting, Threads was changed from a read-only platform into a read-write social network. The move was met with excitement and curiosity, and the digital kingdom waited with bated breath to see the impact of this transformation.
As the first week of the web version's introduction ended, some intriguing occurrences occurred online. Globally, traffic to the threads.net website increased by only 3% from the previous week. The full impact was yet to be determined because it was still early. However, there was a substantial 20% increase in online traffic in the United States, where Threads wanted to leave a lasting effect. Although not the booming introduction Threads had envisioned, it was a promising beginning.
More than 133,000 additional unique visitors from the United States, Threads' country of opportunity, visited the website this week, an increase of 13% from the previous week. But this is where the story takes a shocking turn. The number of daily active users of the Threads Android app decreased by almost the same amount, while web traffic showed hints of growth. It appeared as though one door had opened and the other had shut. The statistics seemed to indicate that an increase in web users did not always increase overall consumption. Sadly, the narrative doesn't include equivalent information for iOS users, although it is possible to assume that the story might have been similar.
Internet users had rushed to threads.net in the early days of Threads after the app's official launch in July. However, other than scanning a QR code to download the app, there wasn't much to do on the web version then. Although user profiles could be viewed online, getting there from the home page was like discovering buried gold in a vast forest.
Web traffic consequently steadily decreased, mimicking a leisurely slope from a mountaintop until the historic day Threads made it possible to view and send messages to the social network online; the decrease persisted. Internet users flocked back to Threads, eager to investigate its newly discovered features, as though a signal had gone out throughout the digital realm.
The charts showed an apparent increase in site traffic that week. The amount of web traffic in the US had increased by 20%, which was a significant increase. The situation was quite similar in the UK, where the week-over-week change was even higher at 23%. However, the effect was only modestly seen globally, with a 3% rise in web traffic.
On the other hand, Threads had a different tale to tell in the world of apps. Following the first introduction of Threads, the number of daily active users on the Threads Android app temporarily threatened Twitter's hegemony. Threads offered a slim chance of upending the social media ecosystem. That optimism, however, was short-lived as app usage plummeted.
In the United States, people had initially spent considerable time on Threads, coming close to rivalling Twitter in terms of usage. It was a moment of triumph for Threads, but it was short-lived. Users' time spent on Threads decreased significantly and did not increase. The once-promising challenger is now up against a strong foe in the social media space.
But things get better in our story. Perhaps Threads' journey through the web will continue. Web access was one of the elements that journalists and marketing managers were concerned about, and it has been solved. A more robust search feature will also be added to Threads, which might draw in Twitter users looking for an alternative.
These new features could eventually persuade social media users to visit Threads in more significant numbers. The quest for social media supremacy is not for the faint of heart, and Threads may still have some tricks up its digital sleeves. While the tale of Threads' web version may not have reached its climax just yet, it serves as a reminder that the journey of a social media platform is filled with twists, turns, and unexpected surprises. Let's wait for what fate has in it for threads.
H/T: SimilarWeb
Read next: Creators' Resilience Amid Turbulent Startup Storms
However, Threads was up against a particular problem right at the off. Some of the busiest content producers on the web couldn't understand why it chose to debut as an app-only platform. These creators were quite comfortable in their castles on platforms like Twitter, where they could easily share their thoughts and ideas with the world. The idea of shifting their creative endeavours to a new app without a web version seemed like a daunting quest.
However, Threads was adamant about leaving its impact on the social media world. Users had access to member profiles through a read-only experience it provided. It lacked the capability to post messages from the web, though, which was an important function. Because of this restriction, some prospective users were deterred from making Threads their primary website for content sharing. If Threads wanted to compete with the social media industry's behemoths, it recognized it had to alter its approach.
So, after giving it some thought and perhaps using a little magic, Threads decided to enter the online realm. With the addition of a web version that enabled message posting, Threads was changed from a read-only platform into a read-write social network. The move was met with excitement and curiosity, and the digital kingdom waited with bated breath to see the impact of this transformation.
As the first week of the web version's introduction ended, some intriguing occurrences occurred online. Globally, traffic to the threads.net website increased by only 3% from the previous week. The full impact was yet to be determined because it was still early. However, there was a substantial 20% increase in online traffic in the United States, where Threads wanted to leave a lasting effect. Although not the booming introduction Threads had envisioned, it was a promising beginning.
More than 133,000 additional unique visitors from the United States, Threads' country of opportunity, visited the website this week, an increase of 13% from the previous week. But this is where the story takes a shocking turn. The number of daily active users of the Threads Android app decreased by almost the same amount, while web traffic showed hints of growth. It appeared as though one door had opened and the other had shut. The statistics seemed to indicate that an increase in web users did not always increase overall consumption. Sadly, the narrative doesn't include equivalent information for iOS users, although it is possible to assume that the story might have been similar.
Internet users had rushed to threads.net in the early days of Threads after the app's official launch in July. However, other than scanning a QR code to download the app, there wasn't much to do on the web version then. Although user profiles could be viewed online, getting there from the home page was like discovering buried gold in a vast forest.
Web traffic consequently steadily decreased, mimicking a leisurely slope from a mountaintop until the historic day Threads made it possible to view and send messages to the social network online; the decrease persisted. Internet users flocked back to Threads, eager to investigate its newly discovered features, as though a signal had gone out throughout the digital realm.
The charts showed an apparent increase in site traffic that week. The amount of web traffic in the US had increased by 20%, which was a significant increase. The situation was quite similar in the UK, where the week-over-week change was even higher at 23%. However, the effect was only modestly seen globally, with a 3% rise in web traffic.
On the other hand, Threads had a different tale to tell in the world of apps. Following the first introduction of Threads, the number of daily active users on the Threads Android app temporarily threatened Twitter's hegemony. Threads offered a slim chance of upending the social media ecosystem. That optimism, however, was short-lived as app usage plummeted.
In the United States, people had initially spent considerable time on Threads, coming close to rivalling Twitter in terms of usage. It was a moment of triumph for Threads, but it was short-lived. Users' time spent on Threads decreased significantly and did not increase. The once-promising challenger is now up against a strong foe in the social media space.
But things get better in our story. Perhaps Threads' journey through the web will continue. Web access was one of the elements that journalists and marketing managers were concerned about, and it has been solved. A more robust search feature will also be added to Threads, which might draw in Twitter users looking for an alternative.
These new features could eventually persuade social media users to visit Threads in more significant numbers. The quest for social media supremacy is not for the faint of heart, and Threads may still have some tricks up its digital sleeves. While the tale of Threads' web version may not have reached its climax just yet, it serves as a reminder that the journey of a social media platform is filled with twists, turns, and unexpected surprises. Let's wait for what fate has in it for threads.
H/T: SimilarWeb
Read next: Creators' Resilience Amid Turbulent Startup Storms
