The Battle Between Threads and Twitter: Surging vs. Tanking
Twitter's recent decision to limit the number of tweets users can see in a day has led to a surge in sign-ups on alternative microblogging platforms, such as Mastodon, Hive Social, Spoutible, and Spill. Meta also launched its microblogging platform, Threads, which gained 30 million users on its first day. However, migrating from Twitter to another platform is challenging due to network effects and the difficulty of coordinating with others. Previous research on platform migrations suggests that content loss, fragmented communities, broken social networks, and shifted community norms are common challenges. While some communities may be able to migrate successfully, there will always be a cost, and not everyone will make the transition. Design features like cross-posting and importing networks can help support migration, and Threads has an advantage as users sign up via their Instagram accounts, allowing them to bring over their social graph. Despite the challenges, communities can be resilient and find new homes outside of Twitter.