Instagram’s CEO, Adam Mosseri, has expressed his high ambitions for Threads, stating that he wants it to become the “de facto platform for public conversations online.” This bold statement was made on the one-year anniversary of Elon Musk taking over Twitter, adding to the significance of Mosseri’s goal.
During an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session, Mosseri discussed the concept of success for Threads within a year. He stated that the team is currently debating the definition of success, but ultimately, their long-term aspiration is for Threads to be the go-to platform for public conversations online. Mosseri emphasized that achieving this would require cultural relevance as well as overall size.
While acknowledging that Threads is not currently the largest public conversation platform, as that title belongs to X, formerly known as Twitter, Mosseri remains optimistic about its prospects. He believes Threads has the potential to surpass X, despite its significant head start. Threads currently boasts “just under” 100 million monthly active users, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent announcement.
Mosseri is focused on continually improving the core experience of Threads. The team has been dedicated to weekly updates, introducing features such as polls, GIFs, and a free edit feature. Mosseri believes that gradually building momentum will eventually lead them to their ambitious goal.
In response to other questions about Threads, Mosseri mentioned the possibility of incorporating hashtags or tags to facilitate topic-based searches. However, he emphasized that this improvement would not dramatically alter the trajectory of the app. Additionally, while acknowledging the need for improvement on the Threads web app, Mosseri highlighted that the majority of usage occurs on iOS and Android, making those platforms the primary focus.
Mosseri is also exploring opportunities to integrate the teams working on both Instagram and Threads more closely. As he has visibility across various teams, he aims to identify synergies and foster collaboration. In line with this, users may have noticed Threads recommendations on Instagram, as Meta is actively seeking feedback on this integration.
With Mosseri’s high ambitions for Threads, it will be interesting to see how the platform evolves and competes in the realm of public conversations online.