- Newly appointed Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino is dismissing reports of a decline in Twitter’s user activity following the launch of Instagram Threads, a new competitor platform that has gained over 100 million users.
- There are user reports suggesting that Twitter might be selectively hindering visibility to links leading to the Threads.net website within its own search results, a move interpreted by some as an effort to stifle the burgeoning competition.
- It’s currently uncertain when this potential block started, as Twitter has ceased responding to press inquiries since it was acquired by Elon Musk last year.
Twitter’s recently appointed CEO, Linda Yaccarino, is disputing claims that Twitter’s user engagement is plummeting due to the emergence of a new rival, Instagram Threads, which launched on July 5. Nevertheless, it seems Twitter is indeed wary of the threat posed by Meta’s competitor, which already boasts over 100 million users.
On Monday, it was noticed that Twitter appears to be selectively impeding access to Threads.net’s website through Twitter searches. This makes it tougher for users to engage with conversations on Threads or find profiles.
Tech enthusiast Andy Baio was among the first to spot this modification on Twitter. He performed a search using the operator “url:threads.net,” which surprisingly returned no results. Conventionally, this kind of search operator would draw out any tweets with links to the specified website. Currently, there’s a multitude of tweets containing links to threads.net.
Furthermore, even a less complex search without the “url:” operator seems to bring up tweets that mention the threads.net website or Twitter users sharing their Threads usernames with their followers (for example, “threads.net/@meta“). However, it doesn’t appear to retrieve direct links to conversations happening on the Threads platform (like, “https://www.threads.net/t/CuhOXGmr74R/“).
Several Twitter users observed and commented on this change even before Baio’s post brought it to wider attention.
As for determining when exactly this blocking began, it’s currently ambiguous. Twitter has ceased responding to media inquiries ever since Elon Musk acquired the social network the previous year.
This is not the first instance of Twitter, under the reign of Elon Musk, hampering access to a rival platform. Twitter imposed similar restrictions when Substack introduced its discussion feature, Substack Notes, making it impossible for users to respond, like, or retweet posts containing these links. The latest blockage targeting Threads has not reached that extent yet, though future steps remain uncertain.
The spat between social media moguls, Musk and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, has escalated recently, with Musk even challenging Zuckerberg to a “cage match”. Musk, in his typical irreverent style, resorted to derogatory name-calling over the weekend, throwing out crude propositions.
On the other hand, Twitter’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, has maintained a more diplomatic approach. She highlighted Twitter’s recent surge in traffic in her tweets, likely intended to soothe anxious advertisers. “Don’t want to leave you hanging by a thread…but Twitter, you’ve truly outdone yourselves! We had our busiest day last week since February,” she expressed. Her assertive statement, “There’s only ONE Twitter. You know it. I know it,” was a veiled reference to Threads.
Don’t want to leave you hanging by a thread… but Twitter, you really outdid yourselves! Last week we had our largest usage day since February. There’s only ONE Twitter. You know it. I know it. 🎤
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) July 10, 2023
Yaccarino’s comments were in response to several reports suggesting Twitter’s traffic had dipped since Threads’ entrance and rapid ascent. According to data from Similarweb, shared by CNBC, Twitter’s web traffic decreased by 5% in the first two days following Threads’ general availability, compared to the previous week. The same source reported an 11% drop in Twitter’s traffic compared to the same period in 2022.
Supporting these statistics was a tweet from Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince, indicating a marked decrease in Twitter.com’s DNS rankings over time. “Twitter traffic tanking,” Prince succinctly commented, accompanying his tweet with a graph depicting a sharp decline.
Twitter traffic tanking. https://t.co/KSIXqNsu40 pic.twitter.com/mLlbuXVR6r
— Matthew Prince 🌥 (@eastdakota) July 9, 2023
How does the future look like for Twitter?
Twitter’s recent moves towards Threads seem to straddle a fine line. On one hand, it’s understandable that Twitter wants to protect its user base and maintain its platform’s relevance in the face of growing competition. However, there’s a valid question as to whether this kind of direct action against a rival platform might undermine Twitter’s image as a free and open platform for conversation and information exchange.
At its core, Twitter is a facilitator of global conversation. By reportedly blocking or limiting visibility to Threads content, they might appear to be compromising on this open ethos. This move could also be seen as a clear indication that Twitter is feeling threatened by Threads’ popularity, which might not inspire confidence in its users.
The negative reputation effect from such actions could be considerable. Users might start to question the impartiality of their Twitter experience. Moreover, such a move could potentially backfire by drawing more attention to Threads, triggering curiosity and driving more traffic towards it.
While Twitter’s concerns about competition are valid, it’s crucial that they navigate these waters carefully, ensuring they maintain their values and the trust of their users.
Featured image credit: 愚木混株 cdd20/Unsplash
