Feature
The Gist
- Feature expansion. After a huge launch, Threads added app features to sustain user interest and to attract an audience beyond the initial user base.
- API launch. Threads API release looks to build its appeal and attract developers and services that enhance the microblogging app.
- Contrasting strategy. Threads’ features and API release represents a stark contrast to X in establishing an environment that serves consumers, developers and marketers alike.
Everybody loves a comeback. Ask any sports fan, such as a Kansas City Chiefs fan after this year's Super Bowl, and you'll likely have a conversation about a comeback team or player. In the world of technology, the Threads API is poised to become a notable comeback story in the social media landscape.
Experts initially declared the buzz about Threads fizzled out after a meteoric rise in attention. However, the platform quietly made strides to retain users with familiar yet innovative features, leading to renewed interest this year.
The pinnacle of the interest and comeback will be a Threads API upgrade expected to be released this summer. The Threads API may broaden its success against its chief competition, X, which has lost some marketing luster since its acquisition by investor Elon Musk.
Related Article: Elon Musk Launches xAI to Solve the Universe’s Biggest Mysteries
What a Difference an API Makes to Customer Experience
Jesse Chen, a Threads engineer, announced the forthcoming API release (on Threads, of course!). He noted that the current Threads API setup allows users to authenticate, publish threads, and fetch the content they post through these tools. The new Threads API will enable reply moderation and insights capabilities. Chen went on to list the vendors working on the beta of the new API. The release is expected at the end of June.
An API is valuable to software and platforms because it enables third-party developers to create services. APIs are a set of programming commands that apps use to interact with each other's systems and to access external systems. It is a doorway for one app to share features or access the features of another app. Social media platforms adopted this capability as a strategy to attract developers who could help them scale by adding features that interested users. Developers found interesting ways to enhance social media features. Analytics dashboards like TweetDeck and Hootsuite, for example, relied on API access to provide their users with data visualization and content management features. This aligned interest — Hootsuite users were also Twitter users — so both platforms and third parties shared the benefits.
Related Article: What Is Meta's Instagram Threads?
The History of Threads — So Far
Threads, a microblogging platform similar to X, was rapidly developed: Its parent company, Meta, described how a small team developed Threads within five months. Threads users can reply, report, or share original thoughts in an interface that looks similar to that of X while using features that integrate with Instagram, like photo and video sharing.
Meta's launch of Threads kicked off an adoption rollercoaster among avid social media users. Threads achieved 100 million users within five days after its launch, becoming one of the fastest-downloaded apps of 2023. Then the number of downloads declined just as rapidly as they had ascended. The app was initially aimed at Instagram users and was limited to certain markets. Access for European users of Instagram was added later in the fall.
Thread's app features were considered functionally adequate, but nothing stood out as an amazing or innovative experience like the live audio chat of Clubhouse. The basics covered essential usage. Threads allowed 500 characters in a post, a smaller count than cousins Instagram and Facebook but more than the 280 allowed on rival X.
Related Article: Advertisers to Zuck: Take Our Money, Put Ads on Threads
The Gradual Phoenix Rise of Threads
As the fall of 2023 unfolded, Meta rolled out features that expanded the basic benefits of Threads. In August, web access to profiles was made available, allowing users to post from their laptops and tablets. Threads added tagged keyword searches in September, then poll posts in October. In November, Mashable reported that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a gradual rollout of hashtags, bringing Threads closer to X in sharing functionality.
Today, Threads has download statistics that rival X, despite X leading Threads in terms of monthly average users (MAUs). Zuckerberg noted that Threads has 130 million MAUs , significantly less than X's 500 million MAUs.
But Threads recently surpassed X in the number of downloads. On iOS, according to Media Post, Threads achieved three times the volume of downloads of X, according to the tracking site App Figures. Threads also achieved twice the downloads of X on Google Play. Ultimately, Threads gained half a million installs by the end of 2023.
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How Threads Stacks up Among Social Media Platforms, Particularly X
Thread's success represents a critical psychological comeback win for Meta. Meta, whose Facebook is considered a social media "OG" among users, has faced public scrutiny on a variety of issues. In an industry that heralds newcomers, Meta's good fortune with Threads contrasts sharply not only against X but also against recent platforms like Clubhouse, which has yet to monetize its audience.
The success also bodes well against Mastodon and Spill, newer social media microblogs similar to Threads and X. Mastodon and Spill currently host mostly niche audiences, so each has yet to scale beyond the initial audience and attract the attention of the larger general public.
A Viable Alternative
Threads' features encouraged social media users to see it as a viable alternative rather than a Twitter knockoff. Moreover, a third-party fact-checking moderation team will be able to review and rate false content on Threads, Facebook and Instagram. This allays consumer and marketer fears about misinformation and the trolling usually associated with it. Advertisers on Threads could find ways to naturally speak to customers without wading through excessive propaganda and harassment activity.
The Trouble With X
In comparison, X has encountered difficulty retaining advertisers as accusations of misinformation and poor moderation against online harassment have repeatedly surfaced alongside its feature announcements. The furor over Elon Musk's comments, such as his antisemitic endorsement of a tweet, his infamous "FO" to advertisers, and Musk's responses in the Don Lemon interview, has not helped either. Despite heralding new initiatives such as the AI play, Grok, a productivity chatbot, X has headwinds to capture large general audience interest the way it did back in the day and in a way that marketers can leverage to generate a customer experience. The stock market feels that way, too. The valuation for X remains less than half of the share value Elon Musk paid for in the acquisition.
Threads' API Launch Opportunity
Threads' decision to launch an API offers an opportunity to overtake some of X's current limitations on its API. While X still offers API access, it changes access into a $42,000 paid tier for large data queries. The change severely limited access to third parties who could monetize the data. It also eliminated access for social scientists who had learned to incorporate aggregate Twitter data into their research. Regulatory requirements outlined by the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) forced X to alter its API access structure by allowing researchers to request API access. This may not have been effective. Fast Company reported that academic researchers could not examine the API for misinformation, with few API-access requests being granted since the revision.
Related Article: Musk Announces His Rebellious Generative AI Platform: Grok
How Threads API Should Be Leveraged
Opening the API to development is the most valuable feature release for Threads. An open platform API creates a community of developers to craft support apps that add further functionality and insert features that enhance the platform experience. This encourages people to stay on the platform and helps marketers who rely on the platform draw potential customers or retain customer attention through branding.
Threads and ActivityPub
One aspect that marketers should watch for is whether the Threads API will follow the social media protocol ActivityPub, an integration protocol. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, has posted statements earlier indicating Meta's commitment to linking Threads to ActivityPub. ActivityPub supports a fediverse integration. A fediverse is a type of network in which individuals and organizations host their own servers, instead of a single entity like Meta or X hosting the platform.
This arrangement permits more independence in accepted and shared content — in short, it is the Web 3.0 environment that has been long heralded. Incorporating the ActivityPub protocol would allow Threads users to view their posts in a "fediverse" feed that also includes posts from Mastodon and any other platform that runs on the protocol.
Related Article: Twitter vs. Mastodon: The Marketing Reality
Did Threads Make the Best Social Media Comeback Ever?
Meta has succeeded in its plans for Threads to be a significant competitor to X. Pairing Threads with Instagram has brought new vitality to social media, while offering some convenience to users. It is a comeback for Meta in a race against other social media platforms.
Still Facing Risks
Meta still faces some risks in terms of expanding Threads' global reach — Reuters reported that Turkey imposed an interim measure against Meta as part of an investigation into whether the data shared between the Instagram and Threads platforms violates Turkish competition laws. It is a reminder that Threads' future success is closely linked to Meta's brand, which has been tarnished by misinformation and privacy issues.
Final Thoughts
Launching a Threads API will extend that success to other parties and provide marketers with an environment to connect with customers naturally. A universe of platform options based on the APIs is essential to advance the Threads platform forward. Marketers should view this API launch as an online opportunity to make a comeback connection with potential customers and long-time customers.
