Meta’s Threads is losing ground to Bluesky, a social media start-up, as users leave Elon Musk’s X following Donald Trump’s election. Bluesky’s app usage in the US and UK surged by almost 300% to 3.5 million daily users, driven by academics, journalists, and left-leaning politicians abandoning X. Before November 5, Threads had five times more daily active users in the US than Bluesky, but now it is only 1.5 times larger.
Bluesky's Growth
Bluesky's growth is attributed to Meta’s decision to reduce political content across its apps, including Facebook and Instagram, to avoid partisan debates. Trump, who criticized social media platforms for censoring conservative voices, had previously labeled Meta as an enemy but recently expressed approval for Zuckerberg’s stance on staying out of the election. In contrast, X has reduced content moderation under Musk, allowing more freewheeling content.
Threads' Strategy and Challenges
Threads initially focused on engaging content from accounts users did not follow, similar to Instagram. However, Meta recently allowed users to create custom feeds around topics or people they want to follow, mimicking Bluesky’s capabilities. This move sparked speculation that Meta was trying to curb Bluesky’s rise. Experts noted that Threads' timeline was ineffective for real-time event content, and there is a need to decide whether to bring back political content and real-time conversations.
Bluesky's Features and Challenges
Bluesky, unveiled by Jack Dorsey in 2019, aims to develop a single protocol for social platforms. Now led by Jay Graber, it allows users to post short messages and images similar to X. Its growth has been aided by features like “starter packs” but has faced increased outages and glitches. The platform raised $15 million in venture funding last year and $8 million the prior year.
Adam Mosseri, head of Threads, stated that the app gained over 15 million sign-ups in November and has maintained over a million sign-ups a day for three months. However, he acknowledged that more work is needed to improve the app.
