Since the introduction of Meta’s text-based platform Threads, user traffic on Twitter has notably slowed down. Threads, which debuted just last week, has already surpassed 100 million sign-ups, indicating its growing appeal among users.

With its launch in the United States last Wednesday, Threads has been positioned by Meta executives, including Instagram chief Adam Mosseri, as a more positive and engaging “public square” for communities that may not have fully embraced Twitter. The initial response from users suggests a favorable reception.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared his enthusiasm in a post on Monday, stating, “Threads reached 100 million sign-ups over the weekend. That’s primarily due to organic demand, and we haven’t even initiated significant promotional efforts yet. It’s hard to believe it has only been five days!”

Meanwhile, Twitter appears to have experienced a noticeable impact. Matthew Prince, CEO of Cloudflare, posted a screenshot on Twitter on Sunday revealing a decline in traffic on the platform, describing it as “tanking.”

According to Similarweb, a data company specializing in web analytics, web traffic to Twitter witnessed a 5% decrease during the first two full days following the general availability of Threads, compared to the previous week. Furthermore, Twitter’s web traffic has seen an 11% decline compared to the same days in 2022.

When contacted by CNBC, Twitter responded with an automated message, while Meta did not provide any additional comment beyond Zuckerberg’s post.

Threads’ remarkable growth can be attributed, in part, to its integration with an established social network, Meta’s Instagram. Users have the option to sign up using their existing Instagram handles, allowing them to retain a portion of their followers as others join the app.

Threads achieved the milestone of 100 million sign-ups even faster than OpenAI’s generative chatbot ChatGPT, which surpassed 100 million monthly users in just two months.

While the app has yet to launch in Europe, Meta’s Mosseri acknowledged that there are regulatory complexities to navigate in the region. If Threads can maintain its user base, it has the potential to establish itself as a formidable competitor for Twitter. In its last quarterly earnings report as a public company last summer, Twitter reported nearly 238 million monetizable daily active users.

Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, has already expressed some concerns about Threads. Musk’s longtime lawyer, Alex Spiro, penned a letter to Meta, accusing the company of “unlawful misappropriation” of trade secrets.

Over the weekend, both Musk and Zuckerberg engaged in a public exchange of jabs, with Zuckerberg mocking Musk’s tweet style and Musk referring to Zuckerberg using a derogatory term.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)