Meta Highlights the Key Development Points of Focus for Threads, as More Users Sign Up to the New App

Meta brings attention to the main areas of growth for Threads as an increasing number of users join the new application.

Threads, the Twitter alternative developed by Meta, has reached a membership count of 106 million users. However, the initial rapid growth has started to stabilize as user behaviors become more consistent, making usage a more reliable metric to gauge its success.

Currently, there is no available data regarding the usage of the new platform, as Meta is still actively working to maintain its functionality. However, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, has highlighted several initial development objectives for the app, indicating that enhancements will be implemented in the near future.

According to Mosseri, the current primary areas of attention are as follows:

One significant oversight in the original Threads design is the absence of a feed consisting solely of posts from the profiles you have selected to follow within the app. Consequently, at present, your only option is to navigate through a collection of updates from profiles that the basic Threads algorithm deems potentially interesting to you.

The current construction of the feed in Threads is influenced by your Instagram feed, adding an extra layer of relevance. However, users have expressed the desire for a more targeted feed, similar to the distinction between the “For you” and “Following” feeds on Twitter. Mosseri assures that this enhancement will be implemented shortly, and improvements will be rolled out starting this week.

Simultaneously, it would be intriguing to understand whether this was a deliberate choice or not.

According to Mosseri, the Threads team believed it was necessary to release the app promptly due to the limited timeframe for a competitor app. They considered the idea that by requiring early users to view content from profiles they are not already following, rather than simply creating a feed from their existing Instagram connections (which could result in people duplicating their Twitter follows in the app), it could potentially expose users to a broader range of profiles that might pique their interest, leading to increased engagement.

In any case, this upcoming feature will be a significant addition to the app, closing the gap between Threads and Twitter and making them more comparable.

Contrary to Twitter’s longstanding reluctance to introduce an edit button, Threads will be implementing this highly debated feature.

Currently, there is a form of tweet editing available for Twitter Blue subscribers. However, Facebook and Instagram have long provided the ability to edit posts, and it seems that Threads will align more closely with Meta’s approach in this regard. Full post-editing functionality is expected to be implemented in Threads at a later stage.

It is understandable why Twitter has reservations about incorporating an edit button for its concise messages. The concern lies in the potential for the context of a tweet to be substantially changed, which could create issues with retweets, embeds, and other related aspects.

Threads allows for longer messages with a limit of 500 characters, surpassing the length of traditional tweets. Additionally, Meta has provided post editing capabilities in its other applications for an extended period, with fewer significant concerns in that regard. Furthermore, an added advantage is that users will not be required to pay for the post-editing feature on Threads.

Currently, the search feature in Threads only allows users to search for other users, and the current web app lacks any search tools entirely.

However, there are plans to update this functionality soon, which will enhance its utility and enable broader discovery. This update will facilitate users in connecting with conversations of interest and provide additional means to find relevant insights on trending topics within Threads.

Mosseri has not indicated whether a trending module will be introduced in Threads. It is possible that such a feature could contradict the overall purpose of the app, which aims to minimize political and news discussions or reduce their prominence in the user’s feed. However, enhancing the discovery capabilities of the app is included in the initial update list, which will make Threads a more functional platform overall.

Mosseri has not shared any specific details regarding the timeline for the release of a fully-functional desktop version of Threads. However, developing a desktop app is an important item on their agenda, particularly for social media managers.