The Necessity of a Desktop Version for Threads, Meta’s Twitter Alternative
Meta Platforms Inc.’s Twitter replica, Threads, has been inundated with user requests for a computer-compatible version for several weeks. Fortunately, the company is anticipated to grant this wish in the near future.
In the mobile era, the desktop version of an app doesn’t usually make or break its success. But Threads focuses on short text updates, which are sometimes easier to manage in a professional environment on a computer. Users with large followings and brands that buy ads often keep the desktop version of X, formerly known as Twitter, open on their desktop computers during the day as they schedule posts, analyze performance and manage the money they spend on the platform. None of these features are available in Threads yet.
“We’re close to the web,” Adam Mosseri, an Instagram executive who runs the Threads project, said last week. The company understands that the app needs to be available on the desktop in order for Threads to become everyday habits during work hours—especially after the initial excitement about the app’s release has faded—and claim X users. The Wall Street Journal reports that the update could come as early as this week.
It’s unclear what other functionality the Threads product update will include. The company declined to comment.
Threads is the Meta’s bright spot for growth, while other departments are being cut. Since the start of the company’s operations on July 5, with only a few dozen people, the company has given the group more than a hundred people. If the project fails to attract repeat users and paying advertisers, the tech giant risks criticism from both investors and employees.
According to analysts at Evercore ISI, the tool garnered more than 100 million signups within days of its launch earlier this month and could generate about $8 billion in annual revenue over the next two years. According to the market research company Sensor Tower, daily usage has fallen by more than 70 percent since its peak.
With the early buzz dying down, it’s still unclear where Threads will make its mark on Internet culture. There is an opportunity to attract former Twitter users as the newly named platform undergoes major changes under new owner Elon Musk. But simply being an alternative to X isn’t enough to steal cultural relevance from its fast-growing rival TikTok, Bloomberg has reported. It depends on the app’s update rate and whether it can attract new users who may never have been on Twitter.
