Meta’s Threads Attracts 5 Million Users in First Four Hours

Meta’s newly launched app, Threads, made a strong entrance into the digital realm, garnering 5 million users within its first four hours, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. As an alternative to Twitter, which has been facing its fair share of challenges, Threads has piqued the interest of disgruntled users seeking a different microblogging experience. However, amidst the initial excitement, one prominent question emerged: How can Twitter followers be imported to Threads?

The influx of curious onlookers, including notable figures like Mark Cuban, resulted in a slow start for Threads. Analysts and journalists quickly took notice of the app and immediately began inquiring about the process of transferring Twitter followers to the new platform. Carolina Milanese, president of Creative Strategies, expressed her concerns, highlighting the time-consuming task of rebuilding a following on a new platform. Milanese, who boasts 16,300 followers on Twitter, remarked that many users have flocked to Threads in the hopes of finding a more sustainable option for professional and influential purposes.

Threads, labeled as “Instagram’s text-based conversation app” by Meta, requires users to create an Instagram account to access the service. This integration further deepens users’ engagement within Meta’s ecosystem. However, some early Threads users experienced an overwhelming flood of content from unfamiliar individuals. To address privacy concerns, Meta assured that individuals under 16 (or under 18 in certain regions) would automatically have private profiles upon joining Threads.

While the nomenclature for Threads posts remains undecided, with “tweets” already being associated with Twitter, suggestions have been made for the term “Stitches” to reflect the app’s theme. Meta’s strategy for building an audience for Threads is yet to be revealed, but it could potentially leverage cultural events such as the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup or Wimbledon. It is expected that disillusioned Twitter users may also contribute to the app’s growth, especially as Twitter’s recent restrictions and introduction of a paywall for TweetDeck have prompted an exodus to alternative platforms like Bluesky, Mastodon, T2, and Spill.

Threads allows posts of up to 500 characters, including links, photos, and videos up to five minutes in length. While Meta’s potential Twitter competitor awaits Musk’s response, the Tesla CEO and Twitter owner has remained silent on the matter thus far. Nevertheless, Meta’s stock has experienced a premarket surge of 1.6%, and it has gained an impressive 145% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 has only risen by 16%.