Less than two days after launch, Mark Zuckerberg says Threads signups reached 70M, which is “way beyond our expectations”

- Meta's new Twitter competitor Threads has exploded in growth in its first full day since its public debut Wednesday night, fueled by Instagram's already massive userbase.

CNBC 2023-07-08 Lauren Feiner

Context & Ripple Effects

Threads’ early adoption had already accelerated from 2 million signups in two hours to more than 30 million, making the 70 million figure a continuation of an unusually rapid launch ramp rather than an isolated spike. Meta’s ability to draw on Instagram’s existing user base is the central distribution advantage in this coverage.

The important next question is whether registrations become recurring use. Later coverage reported just under 100 million monthly users by October and 175 million-plus monthly users a year after launch, providing evidence that Threads’ launch scale translated into a substantial ongoing audience.

First-order effects

Meta gains an immediate large installed base for Threads, validating Instagram-linked onboarding as a launch mechanism.
Twitter faces a newly scaled Meta-backed competitor for users and public conversation almost immediately after Threads’ debut.

Second-order effects

The focus shifts from headline signup totals to retention and monthly activity, a test later reflected in Threads’ reported monthly-user milestone.
A large starting audience gives Meta more reason to invest in Threads’ product and ecosystem, while rivals must compete against distribution embedded in an established social platform.

Third-order effects

If incumbent platforms can mobilize existing social graphs into adjacent products, new social-network launches may depend less on building an audience from zero and more on access to a parent platform’s distribution.
The durable competitive question becomes whether cross-platform onboarding produces sustained engagement; the later reported growth to 175 million-plus monthly users suggests that retention, not launch-day signups alone, determines the challenger’s position.

The trend: Threads is one data point in the broader trend of large consumer platforms using existing user networks to accelerate entry into adjacent social products.

Discussion

@nevillehobson.xyz Neville Hobson on bluesky
The definition of a mass social network! [embedded post]
@epro.social Emil Protalinski on bluesky
Signups for Threads, according to Mark Zuckerberg: — 2 million in two hours — 5 million in four hours — 10 million in seven hours — 30 million the morning after launch — 70 million two mornings after launch — Everyone will be watching to see if Meta starts sharing act…
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
Meta built an app that looks like a nicer Twitter, but it's not trying to replicate the Twitter graph - it's trying to build something much bigger and break out of all the reasons that made Twitter stagnate in the low hundreds of millions of users.
@ernestwilkins Ernest Wilkins on x
Naive question: What is wrong with having hundreds of millions of users? Like, why do these people talk about Twitter like it's always been some kind of Decentraland-level failure? https://twitter.com/...
@gncordova @gncordova on x
I can see Threads being “bigger.” But I definitely can't see it having as much of an impact. https://twitter.com/...
@aishacounts Aisha Counts on x
The key will be if people not on Instagram already will sign up for Threads. And if we'll be using it once the novelty wears off
@dimensionmedia David Bisset on x
In some ways i'm getting “early web 2.0” vibes - an explosion of networks and people are vocal on what they are signing/not signing up for but many open to at least trying out most. Fragmentation however has many (esp young gens) finding it harder to find that “one place”. https:…
@ttp_updates @ttp_updates on x
According to Meta, its Threads app is governed by the same Community Guidelines as Instagram. Unfortunately, enforcement seems sparse, and anti-LGBTQ hate groups are already taking advantage of the new platform 🧵
@conorsen Conor Sen on x
Don't know how long it'll take them to build out chronological (and DM's) but it's looking pretty bleak if you're hoping for a non-Zuck outcome. [image]
@oneunderscore__ Ben Collins on x
Threads makes a lot of sense when you remember what Zuck wanted the Metaverse to be: a heavily branded, inscrutable morass where you might have a fleeting, benign interaction with a celebrity who immediately tries to sell you an Apple Watch.
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
- misleads about metrics - inflates video opportunity - covers up data breach - empowers foreign interference - aids in genocide - blocks free and plural press - hides damning harms research - abuses users privacy - copies competition - launches new app. where can I download it?
@efeng Eric Feng on x
#InstagramThreads is adding a staggering ~2 million new users every hour. That may make it the fastest growing app in history. 👀📈🤯 https://www.quiverquant.com/ ... [image]
@nikitabier Nikita Bier on x
Zuck is incredibly good at throwing his weight behind something at the precise moment his products begin to lose relevancy. He never misses the next train.
@zuck Mark Zuckerberg on threads
70 million sign ups on Threads as of this morning. Way beyond our expectations. 121K likes, 22K replies.
@andymstone Andy Stone on threads
To be clear: “No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee — that's just not a thing.”
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on threads
70 million users in two days makes this the fastest growing app in history. The combination of a well executed, tightly focused MVP and an epic bag fumble by Mr. Musk....
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on threads
Instagram users that don't use Twitter is actually a bigger market than Twitter if you consider Instagram has 2.3 billion active users versus 400 million for Twitter. People who view Threads as a...
@zuck Mark Zuckerberg on threads
Our approach will be the same as all our other products: make the product work well first, then see if we can get it on a clear path to 1 billion people, and only then think...
@nikitabier Nikita Bier on threads
Threads acquired 50 million users in the first 24 hours—more than the entire U.S. DAU of Twitter. 337 likes, 29 replies.

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