In a determined effort to reignite interest in its social media platform, Meta has announced the launch of a web version for Threads, a direct competitor to X (formerly Twitter).
The platform initially garnered immense popularity upon its July launch but quickly saw a steep decline in user engagement, largely attributed to its limited functionality.
Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, revealed the new development through a post on Threads, accompanied by an image of him purportedly constructing the web version.
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He affirmed that the web version would be progressively rolled out in the upcoming days.
The web iteration of Threads enables users to create threads, peruse their feed, and engage with other users’ threads.
However, not all features available on the mobile app will be immediately accessible on the web version. For instance, users won’t have the ability to edit their profiles or send threads to the direct messenger feature of Instagram, Threads’ sister platform.
Meta acknowledges that more features will be integrated in the coming weeks to bridge the gap between the web and mobile experiences, aiming to offer users a seamless interaction across both platforms.
Threads experienced a meteoric rise, amassing over 100 million users in its first week. However, its user base dwindled significantly by the end of July.
Rebecca McGrath, Associate Director for Media and Technology at Mintel, commented on Meta’s strategy, stating, “Meta made the choice to launch Threads in a very basic form. This has frustrated users who checked out the platform following its much-hyped launch, and were expecting it to be a ready-to-go alternative to Twitter.”
The absence of a search function remains a significant hurdle for Threads to overcome, particularly in competing against Elon Musk’s X.
Experts and users alike have criticized this shortcoming, emphasizing the importance of an efficient search feature for community discovery and topic exploration.
Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies at Curtin University in Australia, stated, “Meta are going to have to work to roll out a vastly improved search functionality to let users find topic-based communities to really draw back the crowd who are looking to replace Twitter.”
Leaver also highlighted that Threads’ potential success might be buoyed by the ongoing controversies surrounding X.
Recent criticisms include the platform’s delay in removing Holocaust-denying content and Elon Musk’s plan to eliminate the block feature, which sparked concerns about dealing with abusive messages.
Rebecca McGrath echoed this sentiment, noting that the “continued controversial moves” at X would sustain the demand for alternatives. She emphasized that as Meta refines Threads, users will likely be more inclined to re-engage with the platform.
“Time, though, is still of the essence for Threads,” McGrath concluded, underlining the urgency for Meta to implement comprehensive enhancements to solidify Threads’ standing in the competitive social media landscape.
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