Q&A with Adam Mosseri on Threads' first year, not leaning into political content, driving engagement, focusing on real-time content, the fediverse, and more
and even Threads is warming to it Leo Grieco / Proactiveinvestors UK : Meta's Threads hits milestone but lags social media giants Sean Tilley / We Distribute : A Beginner's Guide to the Fediverse, for Threads Users (Updated July 3rd, 2024) Steven Melendez / Fast Company : One year of Threads: How is Meta's X rival really doing? Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac : Threads reaches 175 million active users; celebrates first anniversary with custom icons Jasdip Sensi / Mobile Marketing Magazine : Meta's Threads hits 175m users in one year The Straits Times : X rival Threads hits 175 million users on first anniversary Jacob Krol / TechRadar : Threads is celebrating its birthday with a hidden cake giving away cool new icons Kaya Yurieff / The Information : Why Mary Meeker and Chamath Palihapitiya Are Bullish on the Creator Economy Johanna Romero / PhoneArena : Threads hits 175 million users and celebrates its one year anniversary Malay Mail : Threads: Meta's answer to X hits 175 million users on first anniversary, but struggles with ‘lack of unique identity’ Ryan Broderick / Garbage Day : Some diatribe about wokeness — You can find audio versions of Garbage Day on every major podcasting app. Reuters : Threads, Meta's X challenger, hits 175 million users ahead of 1-year anniversary Nehal Malik / iPhone in Canada Blog : Meta's Threads Now Has Over 175 Million Monthly Users Bradly Shankar / MobileSyrup : Threads has reached 175 million users in its first year Karissa Bell / Engadget : What Meta should change about Threads, one year in Akshay Kumar / Android Headlines : Meta's Threads now has 175 million monthly active users John Callaham / Neowin : Threads now has more than 175 million monthly active users nearly a year after its launch Vaughn Cockayne / Washington Times : Zuckerberg boasts 175 million active users for Threads Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg : Meta's Threads Considers Ads as Rivalry With X Approaches First Anniversary Laurent Giret / Thurrott : Threads Crosses 175 Million Monthly Active Users After Just a Year Anusuya Lahiri / Benzinga : Meta's Threads Set to Challenge X with New Ad Strategy: Report Dwaipayan Roy / NewsBytes : Threads reaches 175 million monthly users in just 12 months Alex Heath / The Verge : Mark Zuckerberg says Threads has 175M+ MAUs, up from 150M in April, ahead of its one-year anniversary on July 5; source: Meta may turn on ads in Threads in 2025 Threads: Adam Mosseri / @mosseri : It's hard to believe it's been a year... a huge props to the Threads team for shipping improvements week after week, and an even bigger thanks to the Threads community for being here. Everyone has something valuable to say — and we aim to build a place where anyone can comfortably share their ideas. Vincent Orleck / @vincentorleck : “To be super clear, politics are on Threads, and they will always be on Threads.” Couldn't be more clear than that. Thanks @mosseri and @threads, and as always great stuff from @crumbler here ⬇️ https://www.platformer.news/ ... @jamesklusener : Loved reading this interview from @crumbler , I've been craving to hear @mosseri 's thoughts on Threads, apart from those quick update videos he does, and this interview was splendid. Good questions, with just as good answers from Adam about reach, politics the platform's identity. Highly recommend reading this piece! Great look back at what I'd call a successful first year, and many more to come!! 🧵👏Congrats on 175! Adam Lasnik / @thatadamguy : Apologies for perhaps being a bit overly blunt, but the vast majority of people I see decrying Threads' approach in this context are... journalists and misc commentators who focus on politics. Anecdotally, most people I know are delighted that Threads is not leaning into politics and hard news. We all get enough of that from quite a few other online and offline sources and appreciate Threads as a bit of a respite overall. Drew Harwell / @drewharwell : Isn't this the wrong question - “Could we drive incremental engagement by leaning more into politics?” - when people are just asking them not to push down political content? I'm biased, as a person who writes about things happening in the world and thinks they matter, but I don't see why strong opinions on fashion or sports or entertainment should be treated differently than social issues. And not to be self-righteous, but is there really no higher goal than “incremental engagement”? Dustin Moskovitz / @moskov : You're doing a great job, keep up the good work! Will Oremus / @willoremus : Threads *does* want to be a primary hub for news, @mosseri told us — just not news about politics, wars, or hot-button social issues. He said the app has dialed up the recency bias on its “For You” algorithm (originally adapted from Instagram's) to encourage real-time commentary on sports, entertainment, etc., though “it's still a little bit too slow.” The question is: Can Threads can really become a hub for news while shying away from anything truly controversial? Matt Navarra / @mattnavarra : Meta Plans To Bring Ads To Threads “Sooner Rather Than Later” @Mosseri said “I would love to do it sooner rather than later. It's just really a question of opportunity cost. Is that the best way to drive business versus making Instagram ads a little bit better on any given month? … Drew Harwell / @drewharwell : So Threads will be a place for news and takes from people you don't follow for everything *except* for politics and social issues. Even though they can have a giant impact on people's lives. Kurt Wagner / @kurtwag8 : New: Threads has more than 175m monthly users, up from 150m three months ago. Threads also plans to run ads “sooner rather than later.” I chatted with @mosseri about ads, politics, and how they want to differentiate Threads from X one year after launch https://www.bloomberg.com/... Casey Newton / @crumbler : On the occasion of Threads' first birthday, I talked to @mosseri about growing the team, leaning into real-time conversation, and the challenges of the Fediverse. We also talked about news and politics on the app: https://www.platformer.news/ ... Will Oremus / @willoremus : Threads turns 1 this week. We interviewed @mosseri and wrote about how far it has come (175m active users), how far it still has to go to catch X (pretty far tbh), and whether its refusal to embrace hard news, politics or even “social issues” will help or hinder it in getting there. … Mastodon: Kevin Driscoll / @kdriscoll@aoir.social : @caseynewton It sounds like Threads is still cranking on fediverse integration. I was surprised that Mosseri seemed to bring it up without being asked. No timeline but an announcement is “coming soon”: — *"We just gotta get the basics out. You've got to be able to not only post to the fediverse, but to get your replies in the app. … Kevin Driscoll / @kdriscoll@aoir.social : 👩💻 Mosseri seems so focused on stats like “impressions per day per person” that I don't think he knows why anyone uses Threads. — When @caseynewton asks why Threads isn't funnier, Mosseri has no idea: — *"Comedy is the vertical that ... does the most consistently well across platforms. … X: Walter Hickey / @walthickey : Threads has 175 million users https://sherwood.news/... Max Tani / @maxwelltani : it really does not feel like it when you're on there Turner Novak / @turnernovak : Already bigger than this app in the US too 👀 See also Mediagazer
It's hard to believe it's been a year... a huge props to the Threads team for shipping improvements week after week, and an even bigger thanks to the Threads community for being here. Everyone has something valuable to say — and we aim to build a place where anyone can comfortab…
“To be super clear, politics are on Threads, and they will always be on Threads.” Couldn't be more clear than that. Thanks @mosseri and @threads, and as always great stuff from @crumbler here ⬇️ https://www.platformer.news/ ...
Loved reading this interview from @crumbler , I've been craving to hear @mosseri 's thoughts on Threads, apart from those quick update videos he does, and this interview was splendid. Good questions, with just as good answers from Adam about reach, politics the platform's identi…
Apologies for perhaps being a bit overly blunt, but the vast majority of people I see decrying Threads' approach in this context are... journalists and misc commentators who focus on politics. Anecdotally, most people I know are delighted that Threads is not leaning into politic…
Isn't this the wrong question - “Could we drive incremental engagement by leaning more into politics?” - when people are just asking them not to push down political content? I'm biased, as a person who writes about things happening in the world and thinks they matter, but I don…
Threads *does* want to be a primary hub for news, @mosseri told us — just not news about politics, wars, or hot-button social issues. He said the app has dialed up the recency bias on its “For You” algorithm (originally adapted from Instagram's) to encourage real-time commentary…
So Threads will be a place for news and takes from people you don't follow for everything *except* for politics and social issues. Even though they can have a giant impact on people's lives.
New: Threads has more than 175m monthly users, up from 150m three months ago. Threads also plans to run ads “sooner rather than later.” I chatted with @mosseri about ads, politics, and how they want to differentiate Threads from X one year after launch https://www.bloomberg.com…
On the occasion of Threads' first birthday, I talked to @mosseri about growing the team, leaning into real-time conversation, and the challenges of the Fediverse. We also talked about news and politics on the app: https://www.platformer.news/ ...
Threads turns 1 this week. We interviewed @mosseri and wrote about how far it has come (175m active users), how far it still has to go to catch X (pretty far tbh), and whether its refusal to embrace hard news, politics or even “social issues” will help or hinder it in getting th…
Nearly a year into existence, Threads feels more like a public group chat where everyone gets interrupted by obnoxious reply guys just as the convo is getting good. The moderation is so stringent that it forces content creators to be bland and clinical, and punishes for expressi…
So, in conclusion, as we approach Threads' 1st Birthday, I still don't know what Threads is supposed to be, and I'm willing to put good money on the possibility that Threads doesn't know what it's supposed to be either. Anywho, I guess I'll keep posting here so long as it makes …
I honestly don't understand what Threads is supposed to be at this point. It's not good for politics or breaking news (it's not, don't @ me). They literally have to bribe, wine, and dine fashion, culture, and athletes to post on here— and even then they do the bare minimum then…
And it fucking sucks for actual, you know, threading. I say this in the 3rd post knowing full well that the % of people who will see this is minuscule compared to the number that saw the second post, which is a fraction of the number of people who saw the first— because that's h…
agreed, but this also shows that distribution isn't enough and shows the power of network effects. There was a huge influx of users due to Elon fucking up on the other app and it was launched with perfect timing and execution. still, core users of X are still on X.
More than anything else, this demonstrates that distribution is just as important as the product itself. I think the Threads team has done awesome work with the product, but they were able to leapfrog a lot of competition through the Meta distribution platform. There was a lot …
Glad to see Threads is still going strong! While it's still missing some features I'd like (DMs, namely), I've recently been surprised by the level of engagement I've had here. For example, despite having 10X less # of followers here than on X, my recent post about my Xiaomi su…
Threads is excellent for connecting with people and having conversations with those who share your interests. It's also a pretty useful platform to follow current events. It has flaws, but so does every social media platform. The evidence for its success is in the numbers: Thr…
It's Threads' 1 year anniversary so Meta released this “Trends in Text-Based Sharing” Survey says Threads “is a breath of fresh air” compared to the Internet's negativity Good vibes are amazing but so is a business model That means we've got to see ads soon to make this place via…
I can't believe Threads is about to be one year old, and I've been on this app EVERY SINGLE DAY since I joined in September. I have to say, this has been the best social media experience I've ever had. And as a MySpace dinosaur, I've seen them all. Looking forward to the next …
In honor of Thread's first birthday, I'd like to share some of my favorite gas leak content. (please note that often these are like 6-post threads but you can't ever see the follow-ups easily)
A year in, I think it's fair to say that Threads is bigger than a lot of people expected. But there's so much about this place that feels random and disjointed. I wrote about what I wish Meta would change (starting with the algorithm, obvi).
On this occasion of @threads first birthday, I want to thank Meta and the Threads team for reminding me every other day that the Meta Raybans brought to you by Meta exist.
The way that a new text based app has been launched and grown to 175M users in a year despite established incumbents in the space, is nothing short of a miracle and should be studied in business schools. What a year it has been for the app and for this account! Phew. Thanks El…
Meta Plans To Bring Ads To Threads “Sooner Rather Than Later” @Mosseri said “I would love to do it sooner rather than later. It's just really a question of opportunity cost. Is that the best way to drive business versus making Instagram ads a little bit better on any given mont…
Threads launched a year ago and has hit a bunch of key milestones in recent weeks. - 175M monthly active users - There is now a free API for publishing posts and managing content. - Fediverse interoperability now includes viewing & liking comments on your posts from Mastodon.
have heard this app is still getting a lot of flyby traffic from its hooks in Instagram, but it's still not nothing to launch a new app and have it grow like this. monetization (ads) maybe coming next year now and there's focus on growing in key markets for X now (e.g. Japan)
How Americans *really* use @threads and Social Media @instagram teamed up with Wakefield Research to learn how social media users are using Threads and social media in general. The survey is based on the responses from 2,000 Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X, and Boomers in the US. …
Hey! I actually created this the first day I came onto threads last year as a bit of fun so it was exciting when I they emailed me asking to use it :). Yeah they credited me when you click on the icon it comes up with my tag. They also bought the rights to use it too and were …
A year ago, we didn't know what Threads would be come. It was just clear — as evidenced by millions of sign ups — that there was appetite for a rival to Twitter. Today, I think the niche Threads fills is still fuzzy, and the social media market remains increasingly fractured.
Threads is growing fast - not just in terms of users, but also organic visibility on Google. It's quickly starting to earn page 1-3 positions for extremely high-volume celebrity names. FWIW, my personal behavior has been slowly shifting to Threads over X lately. Much more plea…
“We wanted to make it a less angry space,” Adam Mosseri told @KurtWagner8, comparing Threads to X ahead of Threads' first birthday. https://www.bloomberg.com/... FWIW: My feed is not angry, but it's also often a bummer — lots of earnest, emo posts from strangers.
Threads turns 1 this week. We interviewed @mosseri and wrote about how far it has come (175m users), how far it still has to go to catch X (pretty far), and whether its refusal to embrace hard news, politics or even “social issues” will help or hinder it. https://www.washingtonpo…