Threads vs Twitter: Will this be the one? – By Seyi Oniyitan

Building anything in response to an already existing and popular creation is a tricky undertaking. You not only risk always being second, you also risk being complacent, with no real vision and setting very low expectations in outcomes. These, coupled with the daunting requirement of bootstrapping a new userbase from scratch, had always been the undoing of many platforms that tried replacing Twitter. Gab, Parler, Mastodon and Truth Social to name a few. Each of these in their own way, a replica of the original, yet, each, incomplete in its own way. With all the issues bedeviling how Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk, runs the company — most recently the rate limits — there was clamour for a worthy competitor. Enter, Threads.

Being a creation of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, it wasn’t a surprise that just within hours of launch, Threads recorded millions of signups. New users had to sign up with their Instagram account. With Instagram boasting of over a billion users, a huge number of signups is expected. While Instagram may provide Threads with the user base it needs for quantity, it is far from its sufficient qualitative user needs.

Quality vs Quantity of users

After signing up, my second Threads post hinted:

“It is not enough that the medium is created. For this app to work as intended, the network of people and factors that drive conversations need to be present or made present in some form. Migration is a way.”

You see, the type of users Instagram provided Threads with aren’t the types of users enough to drive weighty conversation that the app needs. You need legit wordsmiths. You need thought leaders who are able to put their thoughts into writing. They have existed on Twitter for years. Twitter, in some way, made publishing even more accessible. They were lured in by this. The ability to put down short form writing like a modern diary attracted and bred writers, which attracted and bred even more writers. A never-ending supply of modern poets, dissidents and critics — who, even with iron-fisted censorship on Twitter for years still kept coming back.

At the time of writing this, I have been using Threads for about two days now and the dearth of conversation drivers is evident. Instagram’s audience, who have been used to celebrity-form lifestyle posting aren’t doing any justice to the app. As someone who came from the deepest corners of Twitter poasters, before my double suspensions in 2022 and 2023, I couldn’t help but notice the struggle of celebrities and influencers trying to force conversations with the cringiest of topics. It was an eyesore. Of course, they were aided by the algorithm — dominating the home page where you can’t even tune out of or mute at once.

Mark Zuckerberg and his team are racing to do the wrong things so badly. They’re trying to force a type of conversation down people’s throats. They’re going to pump the timeline with influencer-type propaganda just to give the initial push to the app and users. Well, that may be profitable in the meantime but will be disastrous in the long run as they won’t attract the types of users they need with that strategy. This is the best time to course-correct. Pumping my timeline with celeb gists won’t keep me on the app as a poaster. Those are the kinds of things Instagram was made for. If you need an army of writers and twitter-pill-addicted dissidents, you need to steer clear of moderation. In any form. Make it an open field.

I always tell people who intend to build for people using an existing product or service: ‘Migration is key’. If you want people to abandon your competitors and adopt you, you need to make migration from the previous platform to yours as seamless as possible. This may be a difficult ask but Threads needs to find a way to allow Twitter publishers migrate to the new app. This, of course, means a friendly environment should have been set up. Once people know they can move their data and audience, a major part of the problem is solved.

Well, on the bird app, there’s been a critical and almost jestful reaction to the Threads’ launch. Even more extreme are the Twitter users who’re trying so hard to be fanboys of the product they are only users of. This is also cringe. But it is allowed. Every dunk on Threads is allowed. The team needs some type of fire lit under them. Threaders shall only be allowed to address the overlords at Twitter if the platform is fixed and stands the test of time — and cringe.

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For a long time, no other competitor has stood toe-to-toe with Twitter. Until now. Of course, Meta has an history of just making themselves look mediocre. This may not be different. One good thing about building in the shadows of a much popular giant is how low the expectations are. People expect you to fail. They don’t expect you to be here for that long. So, what do you do? It’s a question that the team at Meta sitting on Threads needs to answer.

As a user, product person, designer and enthusiast, I always look forward to healthy competition among products. Even more, among tech giants. It’s the only way forward. In a market saturated with choices, choices are still never enough. More choices mark a win for the users. I’ll continue to monitor how the adoption fares. I am always for the product that provides more value. Threads really has everything to gain in this and nothing to lose. To win is simple, though not easy.

It’s an interesting slugfest to witness and by God, I hope to see fireworks and not just flashes.

Go follow me on Threads, though. 😌

I do not doubt that I might have left some details out. Like what happens if Threads fails, the ways they could fail or even the lawsuit hinted by Twitter. I had to put this out and do other things on a Saturday morning. You may leave comments and let’s talk about some other grey areas.