Highlights
- Threads, the new social media platform by Meta, attracted over 100 million users within five days of its launch.
- Mark Zuckerberg discloses that the platform has lost more than half of its users after the initial surge.
- Meta acknowledges the need for improved retention and plans to add “retention-driving hooks” to draw users back.
- Threads faced criticism for limited functionality, affecting post visibility and content availability.
- Zuckerberg updates employees on Meta’s ambitious Metaverse project, progress remains on track for AR and VR technology.
- Meta’s financial performance remains strong despite challenges, reporting a profit of $7.79 billion in the last quarter.
- The proposed cage fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk remains uncertain, with no confirmation of it happening.
Meta’s newly launched social media platform, Threads, saw a soaring start with over 100 million users signing up within just five days of its release. However, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has now revealed that the platform has faced a significant decline, losing more than half of its user base.
In a call to employees, Zuckerberg acknowledged that while having a massive user base at the beginning was impressive, retaining those users has proven to be a challenge. He stated, “If you have more than 100 million people sign up, ideally it would be awesome if all of them or even half of them stuck around. We’re not there yet.”
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Retention-Driving Hooks
Threads has faced criticism for its limited functionality, including issues with post visibility and content availability. In response, Meta’s chief product officer, Chris Cox, shared that the company is now focusing on adding “retention-driving hooks” to entice users back to the platform. One such approach is ensuring that users on Instagram can easily access important Threads content, as both platforms are closely linked, requiring an Instagram account for Threads sign-up.
Apart from Threads, Zuckerberg also updated employees on Meta’s ambitious venture, the Metaverse, a yet-to-be-created virtual reality world. He confirmed that the progress on augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology was on track, but he does not foresee it becoming mainstream until the next decade.
Despite the challenges faced by Threads and the resources devoted to the Metaverse project, Meta remains financially strong, reporting a profit of $7.79 billion in the last quarter.
On a lighter note, Zuckerberg addressed the much-discussed proposal for a cage fight with Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. While both tech giants expressed interest in the bout earlier, Zuckerberg now admits uncertainty about whether it will ever materialize.
As Meta strives to improve Threads’ user retention and continue its Metaverse pursuits, the company’s future remains intriguing for the tech world.
