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  • Meta's Twitter copycat isn't  quite living up to expectations.

  • Days after launching on July 5thengagement has dropped off a cliff.

  • Time spent on the app declined 60%  from its peak a few days prior,  

  • according to the software company SensorTower.

  • And this was during the first week it launched.

  • Similarly, software company SimilarWeb  reported Threads' daily active users  

  • dropped from 49 million to 24 million in a week.

  • It's even more disappointing considering Threads  

  • had the greatest start of  any social media app ever.

  • It reached 100 million users in five dayssurpassing even the rapid rise of ChatGPT.

  • So, what went wrong?

  • While the initial interest  may have appeared promising,  

  • it's possible this was somewhat misleading.

  • One factor contributing to the surge  of sign-ups how easy it is to join.

  • I could easily get my puppy onto Threads by  

  • signing up through her Instagram  account with just a few clicks.

  • Additionally, Threads offers the feature of  

  • transferring your Instagram followers  directly onto the new platform.

  • This could have amplified  the popularity of Threads,  

  • giving a skewed perception  of genuine user engagement.

  • Another aspect that's problematic  is that you can't delete your  

  • Threads account without deleting  your Instagram account as well.

  • You can deactivate Threads, but you're  locked in unless you choose to delete both.

  • And privacy concerns are off the charts.

  • When I compare the privacy labels from  Apple's App Store, I discovered that  

  • Threads gathers more information than  Twitter, includingsensitive info”.

  • That includes racial or ethnic data, sexual  orientation, pregnancy or childbirth information,  

  • disability, religious and philosophical beliefstrade union membership, political opinion,  

  • genetic information, or biometric data - which  includes fingerprints and facial recognition data.

  • Because it collects so much data, Threads  isn't yet able to launch in Europe,  

  • as collecting sensitive information requires  a higher standard of legal consent in the EU

  • Meta's track record on privacy is far from clean.

  • Facebook is known for collecting user data  and allowing advertisers to target them.

  • Besides privacy concernsThreads has limited features.

  • Unlike Twitter, there's no option ofhome feed just for people you follow,  

  • though such a feature is in the works.

  • Instead, the Threads algorithm  pushes content from people you  

  • don't follow based on what it  determines to be most engaging.

  • The goal is to keep you on  the platform for longer,  

  • exposing you to more ads when ads come to Threads.

  • Additionally, the inability to  view posts chronologically on  

  • the timeline or search for specific  posts restricts the user experience.

  • The true success of imitators  typically comes from offering  

  • an improved version of the original product.

  • Like when Instagram took inspiration from  Snapchat to create Instagram Stories.

  • Instagram added new features, such  as the option to pause, rewind,  

  • and fast-forward through stories, something  that wasn't available on Snapchat at the time.

  • This enhanced the user experience, and Instagram  Stories surpassed Snapchat's user base.

  • Threads, however, doesn't  really improve upon Twitter.

  • It mirrors Twitter - it's hard  to tell them apart - other than  

  • for a few missing features mentioned earlier.

  • Meta's sales pitch for Threads  appears to be that it's not Twitter.

  • Zuckerberg has been trying to  brand Threads as a “kindand  

  • friendlyplace where politics and  news apparently won't be emphasized.

  • However, it's the back-and-forth on  politics, news, and controversial  

  • topics that makes Twitter so compellingdrawing people in and keeping them engaged.

  • By the way, I'd be grateful if you followed  @Newsthink on Twitter. Link in description.

  • Tucker Carlson's interview with Andrew Tate  has been seen by 92 million users on Twitter.

  • Tate is a controversial figure who was banned  from the platform prior to Musk taking over.

  • A big reason the SpaceX and Tesla CEO  acquired Twitter for $44 billion was  

  • because he felt freedom of  speech had been restricted.

  • Twitter has been bracing for more competition.

  • About a week after Threads launched, Twitter  started sharing ad revenue with creators,  

  • beginning with a portion of the revenue  earned from replies to their posts.

  • So Twitter is trying to incentivize people to  post great content there, bolstering its appeal.

  • But maybe it doesn't have to  worry about the competition.

  • Will Threads end up in the graveyard of  other failed Meta projects, like Lasso,  

  • Facebook's answer to TikTok, or  Hobbi, its answer to Pinterest?

  • The huge drop in engagement so soon  after launch suggests it's headed  

  • down that direction unless the app improves.

  • But maybethis wasn't about  Threads but a bigger plan.

  • Threads could be part of Zuckerberg's wider  goal to build the metaverse, a virtual reality  

  • space that enables users to interact with each  other inside a computer-generated environment.

  • Meta says it plans to decentralize Threadsmeaning it will work with other non-Meta  

  • social networks, which aligns with Meta's vision  for the metaverse, a seamless online ecosystem  

  • where interactions are not limited to  one specific platform like Facebook.

  • The rivalry with Twitter is not  confined to the virtual world.

  • Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg may be  stepping into an entirely different ring,  

  • possibly fighting in an MMA-style match!

  • Who would you place your bet  on? Let me know in the comments.

  • As fascinating as this fight would be,  

  • I really do hope they're not seriously injured  as their tech companies need their big brains.

  • The brains behind their  platforms are skilled engineers.

  • It's the kind of skill that is so  important to foster - especially today.

  • I highly recommend Brilliant,  a website and app where you can  

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  • you'd love, dive into their new  'How Technology Works' course.

  • Using Brilliant is part of my daily  routine. I like to dive into their  

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  • Thanks for watching, I'm Cindy Pom.

Meta's Twitter copycat isn't  quite living up to expectations.

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