Threads, Meta’s latest microblogging platform, has taken the social media world by storm, amassing 100 million users in just over two days.
This rapid rise to popularity has had a significant impact on Twitter. According to Matthew Prince, CEO of Cloudflare, Twitter has been grappling with a noticeable decline in traffic since the beginning of 2023. Now, with the launch of the Threads app, Twitter’s traffic seems to have taken another huge hit.
This sharp decline strongly indicates that Twitter is losing its once strong user base, and the launch of Threads has contributed further to this downward trend.
The decline in Twitter’s popularity can be partly attributed to the controversial changes implemented by its new owner, Elon Musk, following his acquisition of the platform for a staggering $44 billion in 2022.
Currently, according to Cloudflare, Twitter holds the 37th position in domain ranking, a decline from its 32nd position in January 2023. This sharp drop strongly suggests that Twitter is losing traffic, and the launch of the Threads app is likely to further contribute to this decline.
After Elon Musk acquired Twitter for a staggering $44 billion in 2022, he has implemented various inconvenient changes to the platform, which have prompted users to seek alternative platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky as well as the recently launched Threads by Instagram.
With limitations on daily post access and essential features like SMS-based two-factor authentication now behind a paywall, the new Twitter management is actively encouraging users to subscribe to the Blue service to maximise their Twitter experience, which has also received a lot of backlash from its 450+ million user base.
These alterations have left many users dissatisfied and motivated them to seek alternative platforms such as Mastodon and Bluesky, as well as the recently unveiled Threads by Instagram.
Users have been particularly displeased with the introduction of restrictions on daily post access and the placement of essential features like SMS-based two-factor authentication behind a paywall.
Twitter pushing users to subscribe to the Blue service to enhance theit Twitter experience has also faced considerable backlash from the platform’s massive user base, which exceeds 450 million individuals.
Source: Indian Express, The Hindu