Threads has had an extraordinary launch. It has already been downloaded by close to 100 million users, which is kind of incredible when you consider that it has only been around for five days and isn't even available in the European Union. Even with that limited distribution, it's the most successful product launch, ever.
That's not to say the app doesn't need some work. Adam Mosseri, who is the head of Instagram, has said the company is working hard to bring new features, including the ability to edit posts, support for other languages, and -- the big one -- a feed of only the people you follow.
Most of those probably would have been available at launch had the company not rushed the service out the door to capitalize on the turmoil at Twitter. In hindsight, that was a brilliant move, even if it meant not everything was there. That last one, however, is missing on purpose.
In fact, the success of Threads -- so far -- is largely due to two very intentional decisions Instagram made about how you first experience Threads. First, when you create an account on Threads you have to sign in using your Instagram account. That means you're able to immediately transfer your entire social graph from Instagram.
To say that decision was smart is an understatement. It means that you don't have to go looking for the people you know -- if you follow them on Instagram, you'll be following them on Threads as soon as they join. It means that your feed will be full of people you already know and follow once they start posting to Threads.
The other decision is more controversial, but it absolutely is the single biggest reason Threads took off the way it did. Instead of a reverse chronological feed of content from the people you follow, Threads shows you a mix of their content as well as other posts it thinks you'll like. It's an algorithmically-driven feed designed to keep you engaged.
The reason this matters is directly related to the first decision. While it's brilliant that Threads lets you bring over your entire Instagram social graph, if you joined the app early (like on Wednesday or Thursday), there's a good chance that only a small number of the accounts you follow would be there.
That's a really bad thing if you're trying to get people to use and enjoy your new platform. If only a few of the people you follow are on that new platform, there's just not going to be enough content for you to feel like it's worthwhile. If the new social-media app feels empty and dead, that's not very social. Given that experience, most people will probably just leave.
If you show up to a party and no one you know is there, that's no fun. Standing in the corner with no one to talk to is not a great experience. One way around that is for the host of the party to start with icebreakers designed to get everyone talking to each other. It's awkward and annoying, but it works. People enjoy themselves much more when they make connections.
Was the Threads feed full of brands and celebrities? Yep. Is that what most people want from their social media? It doesn't matter. What matters is that there was stuff to see while the network of people you follow showed up and started using the app.
Most people would agree they'd rather have the option to only see posts from the people they follow (there's a reason you follow them) in the order they were posted. But if Threads hadn't shown you an algorithmic feed to start, it would have been boring. It might have even failed.
Of course, the more people you follow, the better the algorithm gets at showing you content you might like. It also seems to show you less content from outside the accounts you follow the more of them you follow.
Also, to be fair, as much as people say they hate algorithms, it turns out that for a lot of people, the algorithmic feed is all they'll ever see because Instagram is just that good at predicting what you'll like. And for the people who hate it, as long as Instagram adapts quickly enough to not irritate them into leaving, it's still a net win.
Either way, it was a brilliant strategy -- even if most people say they hate it. After all, 100 million of them signed up to use a brand-new social-media platform in 2023. That's a stroke of genius.
BY JASON ATEN, TECH COLUMNIST@JASONATEN
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