Zuckerberg’s Threads is playing it too safe to beat Musk’s X

Building traction for any new social media app is difficult — but not nearly as difficult as maintaining it. A month and a half on from its blockbuster launch, that’s the challenge facing Threads, Mark Zuckerberg’s supposed Twitter killer. So far things don’t seem to be going all that well.

The number of active users of Threads, which was downloaded some 100 million times in the first few days, has dropped by 60 percent to 70 percent, according to SensorTower. More troubling for the Meta chief executive officer is that the average time spent daily on the app has fallen to just 2.5 minutes, compared with around 30 minutes a day for Twitter (or X, if you must) and around an hour for Instagram.

A boost might come in the form of a key upgrade being rolled out this week: a desktop interface. It means people can post to Threads from their computers, not just from their smartphones — a hallelujah moment for so-called “power users” who post several times day from their desks. Over on Twitter, this cohort of extremely online people are responsible for the vast majority of content and engagement. Threads needs them.

Unfortunately, the desktop version — which I’ve been trying out — will do little in its current form to reignite use of Threads. The interface could kindly be described as minimalist. Barren would be another word for it. It lacks basic functionality, such as the ability to quote another user’s post while adding a comment of your own. Zuckerberg said development of Threads would be slow. He wasn’t kidding.

Enabling a way to access Threads via desktop computers ticks off just one box on a long, long to-do list. Threads still lacks some of the key nuts and bolts that Twitter offers. You can’t host live audio spaces, or stream video. There are still no hashtags, making tracking specific topics — or finding people you want to know, not just those you do — a challenge. Indeed, there is no search function at all, and no trending topics, to give us a sense of what’s happening at the global watercooler. (If we can even call it that: Meta hasn’t yet launched the app in much of Europe, citing regulatory concerns.)

These criticisms might seem harsh for a new platform apparently built in a hurry, inspired by the regularly refueled dumpster fire over at Twitter. In assessing Elon Musk’s management since he took over and rebranded Twitter, Adam Mosseri, the Meta executive in charge of Instagram and Threads, has understandably taken the view that it is wiser to carefully test updates before deploying them to the public. Meta long ago abandoned its famed mantra “move fast and break things” in favor of a cautious approach more suitable to a huge corporation that handles personal data on more than 3 billion users across all its apps.

But while Zuckerberg and Mosseri have frequently emphasised the fact that Threads is being built “from scratch,” such statements feel somewhat disingenuous. Threads is built on Instagram, a platform of more than 2 billion users and one that enables a vast and rich feature set of images, short-form TikTok-like video and live broadcasting. The reluctance to integrate the platforms beyond technical infrastructure seems like a calculated business choice: Meta doesn’t want to risk cannibalising
Instagram in favor of the so far ad-free Threads.

While investors are energised by Threads — some predict it could generate $8 billion in additional yearly revenue should advertising be introduced — that sentiment would sour at the first sign Threads engagement was eating into cash cow Instagram. Owning the “new” Twitter would give Zuckerberg immense street cred, but the prize is comparatively tiny when compared with Instagram’s scale, a platform growing so quickly it has added a Twitter-size amount of engagement in the past year alone, according to a SensorTower analysis of mobile app usage.

All this is to say: It’s in Meta’s hands. While Musk has given ample reasons for people to leave Twitter, it is now up to Meta to mold Threads into a place that’s compelling or funny or even a little bit provocative. There isn’t an infinite window of opportunity, and it will require Mosseri dusting off the old motto and get building — even at the risk of breaking things.

A recent beta program for Android users of Threads, where new features can be tested, is a step in the right direction. Meta must leave its comfort zone if it is to shake the risk of Threads gaining a reputation as a boring network not worth people’s attention. Mosseri can learn a lesson from Musk and not be afraid to experiment out in the open. Twitter’s continued use is evidence that people are prepared to work around all manner of bugs and imperfections if the community is worth it.

Dave Lee is Bloomberg Opinion's US technology columnist. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication. 

Credit: Bloomberg