Meta's Threads is still thriving and shining but X remains a BIG competitor

Threads, Meta’s competitor X, is celebrating its first anniversary. When it first launched, Threads was fairly basic in its offerings, but Meta has since enhanced the app, making it a viable alternative for those seeking a platform other than X.

The timing of Threads’ arrival was opportune. Last summer, Elon Musk’s acquisition of X (formerly Twitter) resulted in widespread layoffs and server shutdowns, alongside significant changes that deeply impacted user experience. The platform became increasingly unstable, prompting major advertisers to depart, leaving behind a flood of low-quality products and crypto advertisements. Haphazard alterations to verification processes led to high-profile impersonations, celebrity suspensions, and the proliferation of misinformation.

Threads emerged as a promising social platform free from these issues, despite its initial simplicity upon its launch on July 5th, 2023. Users could create 500-character text posts, embed images or videos, and interact with others through comments, likes, reposts, and shares. Crucially, starting on Threads was straightforward due to its integration with Instagram accounts.

Another distinguishing feature of Threads was its promise to integrate with the fediverse—a promise that Meta appears to be fulfilling, much to the surprise of many. Threads opted for ActivityPub, the decentralized protocol utilized by Mastodon. Currently in an optional beta phase, fediverse integration allows non-Threads users to follow you, view and like your posts, and have their replies visible within Threads. This move aligns with Instagram chief Adam Mosseri's vision of empowering creators who prefer more control over their social media presence.

These developments position Threads as a strong contender to inherit the former Twitter's mantle. However, its success in displacing X is far from assured.