Threads, Meta’s new Twitter lookalike, launched on July 6 and quickly reached 100 million users in under a week. But whether the app can keep up that momentum is unclear. Data sites now show Threads user activity has fallen as much as 70% from its first week, and average usage time has dropped from 21 minutes to six. With Twitter’s surprise rebrand, the concept of decentralized social media has received an infusion of new interest. So is Threads poised to take over Twitter — ahem, X — as the number-one microblogging site for crypto enthusiasts?
We tapped some respected Web3 community builders and social media experts to find out their thoughts. Threads parent company Meta promises that the new platform will soon be decentralized, but some Web3 enthusiasts are skeptical. The platform announced plans to be compatible with the decentralized social media protocol ActivityPub, which would allow users to interact with other social media platforms like the open-source Mastodon network, Bluesky and others.
Critics aren’t convinced that Threads is the way, as users can only create accounts through existing Instagram credentials and can’t interact entirely anonymously in the Threads multiverse. However, CoinDesk’s Emily Parker points out that most people outside of Crypto Twitter’s echo chambers care more about accessibility than privacy and decentralization. Threads’ features are simple to use, and verified Instagram users will notice their existing verification carries over to Threads.
Decentralization purists won’t like it, but perhaps this Meta-owned cross-posting functionality is the first necessary step toward building a truly open Web3. Riley Blackwell, Web3-focused community-building strategist, said she’s more in favor of Lens Protocol or Bluesky as Twitter alternatives than Threads, but nonetheless admitted that Threads will “undoubtedly capture the average [social media] user” who’s not as interested in learning about underlying protocols.
Carrie Melissa Jones, author and online community strategist, said she first felt “hopeful” that Threads could replace the void she felt after leaving Twitter, but now thinks the app lacks the sense of camaraderie she felt in Twitter’s early days. “Meta can’t duplicate that experience; their viral growth ambitions are stronger than their desire to build something with a distinct culture and purpose,” she said.
At the end of the day, Threads may replace X for members of the general public, but it probably won’t replace Crypto Twitter. Rae Isla, an Americana singer-songwriter, said, “Use the tools, don’t let them use you.” Perhaps the next platform that lures us away from our glitchy Twitter Spaces and novel-length tweet threads won’t come from Meta, but rather from a handful of developers working in stealth mode right now.