Thoughts on Threads and X Corp. (i.e. Twitter) from The SUM

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In this newsletter, you'll find two long-form topics:

• Thoughts on Threads: Meta's Move on Twitter's Weakness
• Twitter is Now X and a Tweet is a Xeet?

There's so much to cover between these two behemoths, so this newsletter is roughly two-thirds Threads and one-third X.

Word Count: 2206-words

Thoughts on Threads: Meta's Move on Twitter's Weakness

Where to start? Threads took the world by storm in a short-lived windfall of social media emotion. Some marketers raved about how you need to be there, other marketers raved about how you shouldn't be there since it was a cesspool of unhinged conversations and Wild West mentality. If you are a brand marketer, social media manager, or just a marketing team member, you'll know what to do for your brand. Threads definitely is not for everyone.

First Take on Threads as a Social Platform

Threads embodies a microblog, so if you're a writer, it's a place you need to be. The interface is very similar to Substack, a near lookalike, and threads function more like notes than tweets.

Some of the main takeaways:

1. 100% app-based mobile experience without a desktop option. This has become a recent criticism of the app, suggesting it's a limitation on growth.
2. Hashtags have no value. Again, this is a criticism of the platform because you cannot find and contribute to a larger conversation. However, this also provides a personalization aspect that appears to be completely intentional.
3. Seamless post-sharing to other networks with pre-populated, branded backgrounds. This was an innovative feature for launch, but it's becoming more of an annoyance for power users and their followers. Phasing out the branded option for an unbranded option would be a good move.

The Threads Member Surge Followed By the DAU Decline

The advantage of Meta's Threads over Substack's Notes and Twitter (*cough cough* X) was the direct tie to your social network via Instagram. It immediately drove engagement to your posts, and this social connection contributed to the direct hype that proved to be very ephemeral, damn near parabolic. The bigger reason for the surge in immediate user volumes was specifically the auto-follow feature, which is more or less an integrative piggyback hack.

Zuckerberg stated, "10 million sign ups in seven hours ??" on his Thread account post-launch. By the following morning, they were at 30 million sign-ups, and soon after, 70 million sign-ups. However, after becoming the quickest app in history to 100 million members (in only a week), the daily active users have continued to decline over the last few weeks, "down about 70% from a July 7 peak," according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Question Remains "To Thread or Not to Thread" ??

At first glance, Threads was a new frontier for social media influencers to emerge for at least 72 hours. Often, first adopters have found success on other social networks by gaining new followers early and getting compound interest on their follower accounts as more users joined the platform. Historically, this has played out on YouTube, Twitter, Vine, TikTok, etc.

However, celebrities, athletes, and influencers with large Instagram followings immediately stole the thunder of the wannabes on Threads. It took the wind out of the sails of some hopefuls.

Does that mean you should ditch Threads if you're a nobody? No. Instead, be active outside of your immediate circle.

• Tag people and big accounts.
• Comment on those big accounts.
• Share threads to other networks.

Content and activity are still the name of the game, even if you're competing against the whales of social media stardom.

The Reason Threads "Feels" So Refreshing: No Ads

Comment after comment on-platform and off-platform regarding how Threads feels like a big group chat, an open forum, a stream of consciousness, and how it's so refreshing compared to other networks are forgetting something that has yet to show up to the party: ads.

Once ads rear their ugly head, the refreshing feeling becomes dry and stale. Monetization and advertising take away from the freeing feeling you get when you strictly see what you want and expect to see on social media. Constantly being prompted to buy this product or that service is distracting, annoying, and integrated into every app by necessity.

The thing is... ads will come. Meta's shareholders will want to know how much revenue Threads will generate, how much market share it's stealing from Twitter, what advertisers have converted from Twitter to Threads, and if it's a good time to buy the ticker symbol $META.

Zuckerberg doesn't have to monetize the new platform, and Meta isn't suffering on the revenue front. However, if you look a the current iterations of Facebook and Instagram and reflect on where they started, there's nothing to indicate ads aren't on their way. Plus, creators want tools to monetize their followings and continue to evade a traditional career. Can you blame them?

All of that said, the reason Threads feels refreshing is the same reason Zuckerberg and friends want all of your data.

Meta Wants Access to All of Your Data with Threads

Meta wants to know everything about you with their new app.

Jack Dorsey (former CEO of Twitter) pointed out how much information and data you’re giving away by agreeing to the App Privacy terms for Threads. Of course, he did this in a tweet. It’s everything from User Behavior to Health and Fitness to “Sensitive Info” without specific list items under that field.

Why Does Zuckerberg and the Meta Team Want All of Your Data? To make the new platform profitable, your data will need to be sold to third parties who want to target you, the consumer, and Threads user.

There are still no ads on the platform, but the alternative is selling the currency of the Internet age: data.

Threads' Growth Spurt That Abruptly Stopped, Denying It the Status of "Twitter Killer"

Threads absolutely had the potential to be the "Twitter Killer" everyone was talking about, but it's almost been a month since the release, and it's not living up to the hype. Plus, Elon killed Twitter all on his own yesterday (more on that below).

Headlines continue to trickle out of publications, newsletters, and social media accounts polluting the record-breaking narrative of Threads adoption and total domination. Now, there's speculation but with a positive bias.

• Threads has lured some creators who never loved Twitter — now Meta has to keep them (CNBC)
• Threads Is Already Losing Its Allure for Users, Adding Urgency for New Features (WSJ)
• Threads Sees Significant Decline in Usage, but Opportunity for Disruption Remains (Social Media Today)
• Threads User Engagement Plummets After Explosive Start (Forbes)

Again, it hasn't even been a month since Threads debuted, so sit tight, and we'll see what happens next.

Other Looming Questions About Meta's Threads

What emoji signifies the platform?

• "Thread" ??
• "Sewing Needle" ??

The spindle of thread could be the literal thing, the noun, the app depicted as the emoji. The needle and thread might be the verb, the acting of threading, of posting. What do you think?

Drop your emoji in the comments.

What do you call the act of posting on Threads?

According to Threadiquette from the Threads app, a post is exactly that—a post. That feels pretty boring. Despite the index, users are calling a thread a thread, like a tweet is a tweet, even if Meta wants a thread to be a conversation or a discussion. At the end of the day, the users will decide on the vernacular.

Is there any real etiquette to consider?

Judging by the consensus as of Tuesday, July 25, there isn't any real etiquette to speak of. That's one of the arguments for not becoming active as a brand. It's another place the unhinged conversation is popping up.

Realistically, you probably have more questions, and many questions remain to be seen, but as things play out, you should watch closely if you’re managing social media.

Other folks have also done a great job explaining details about Threads and why your brand might want to be there, like Jack Appleby's Threads 101: a strategy guide for brands on Future Social.

Some are less enthusiastic about the platform and have taken the other route, i.e. The case against Threads by Mark Schaefer over on Medium.

Twitter is Now X Corp. and a Tweet is a Xeet?

What is X Corp? It feels like it belongs in The Matrix, but the logo swap making headlines yesterday is not a joke like the Dogecoin spoof. This is a very real change, despite Elon Musk referring to this as an "interim" fan-designed logo.

Whether this is a knee-jerk reaction to the launch of Threads or the recent text-based features by TikTok, this smells more like your standard Muskism. Elon does what Elon wants.

Musk has made it known again and again that China's WeChat, a super app or everything app, aligns with his vision of the ultimate app, marketplace, or town square. The first step in this endeavor was the purchase of Twitter. The next step was disruption and controversial changes to the platform. Now, the saga continues with a complete rename: X.

One hitch popping up last night on X and other social outlets is Microsoft allegedly owns the trademark for X (i.e. Xbox) as related to communications, and ironically, Meta owns a trademark for a blue-and-white X as related to software and social media. A few legal snafus won't stop Musk who, no doubt, will gladly battle out what he somehow sees as his magnum opus in court.

A Tweet is Still a Tweet

For now, the good news is a tweet still appears to be a tweet—if the UI is any indication. On the other hand, Musk said a tweet will be called x.

"Tweet" appears as a noun and verb in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, and it was officially recognized in the Oxford English Dictionary as of June 2013, so keeping it around would be a wise move.

There are tweets floating around saying X's help center is calling the former tweet a Xeet, but Twitter's moderation tools have labeled this as incorrect. Either way, it's hard to verify any UI changes while the X-branded rollouts are slowly updating across desktop and mobile.

One App to Rule Them All and the X Ecosystem

What is a super app? A super app—or everything app—isn't limited to simply social networking. It would give users access to a mobile payment system, shopping, media sharing, instant messaging, text messaging, video conferencing, games, location sharing, etc.

It's worth pointing out that Meta has been inching toward the same outcome as it acquires and deploys apps into its digital ecosystem. However, their success would be best described as meh.

Will X Corp. do the same? Possibly.

A big question for Musk is how does X Corp. tie into the "X" branded ecosystem he's been creating. It's never really been addressed, but CEO Linda Yaccarino called it a “global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities.” That vague statement easily ties in all of the other businesses: the remarkable positioning of SpaceX, Tesla's Model X, and xAI—that is here to rival generative AI platforms, the X trend is obvious.

Fun Fact: Back in 1999, Musk founded X.com, which then became PayPal.

The impulsive reaction to Threads can best be identified in the black-and-white color scheme X debuted with. How ironic Threads launched with a black-and-white color scheme, too.

Anyway, let's leave on this note: Think of all the brand collateral sporting the famous logo of "Larry the Bird" (Twitter's logo). How long until companies and organizations reprint those materials? Realistically, it will take years for Twitter to be filtered out of marketing and advertising channels.

I suppose this is a lesson on why putting social media logos on your brand collateral is never a great idea unless it's digital signage that can be easily swapped out. But that's a topic for another day.

Also, are we still going to Mars or what?

The SUM covers news and insights related to business, marketing, copywriting, advertising, branding, digital best practices, social media, and work-life balance. Subscribe for biweekly updates—or follow?Zach Burger?for more content.