Against Time: The Exclusive Account of Meta's Triumph in Creating Threads Ahead of Musk
.jpg "Racing Against Time: The Exclusive Account of Meta's Triumph in Creating Threads Ahead of Musk") |
| Racing Against Time: The Exclusive Account of Meta's Triumph in Creating Threads Ahead of Musk (Image Source: washingtonpost.com) |
Amidst a turbulent period, a struggling company retraced its roots to produce an unprecedented sensation. Now, the question looms: Can Adam Mosseri's minimalist Twitter counterpart breathe new life into an established tech behemoth?
In November of last year, Adam Mosseri found himself faced with an unexpected challenge while vacationing with his family in Italy: a direct confrontation with Elon Musk, who had recently taken control of Twitter.
Seeing an opportunity amidst the upheaval, Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives aimed to attract creators from Twitter to their own social networks. Zuckerberg reached out to Mosseri, the head of Instagram, during his holiday, leading to a late-night discussion.
Whispering softly to avoid disturbing his sleeping wife, Mosseri and the group explored the possibility of integrating Twitter-like features into existing apps, such as Instagram.
However, Zuckerberg had a bolder idea in mind: creating a stand-alone app to directly compete with Twitter. Though the call ended well past midnight, Mosseri was entrusted with the task of building this ambitious project, yet he couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety.
Feeling the weight of Zuckerberg's excitement for the project, Mosseri knew they had to rise to the challenge. He recalled thinking, "Oh God, we've got to figure this out because [Zuckerberg is] very excited about this. Sometimes you can tell when he kind of gets his teeth into something."
Remarkably, in just seven months, Meta revealed the outcome of their efforts: Threads, a stand-alone app that took the world by surprise with its instant success. Seizing the opportunity to launch a week ahead of schedule, Threads capitalized on Twitter's high-profile setbacks, including Musk's decision to limit the number of tweets users could view daily.
The result was astounding, with Threads amassing over 100 million users in its first five days, solidifying its place as arguably the most triumphant social media app launch in history.
Threads' future hangs in uncertainty as its long-term success remains far from guaranteed. Merely weeks following its debut on July 5, data from analytics firms suggested a staggering decline of over fifty percent in the app's usage from its initial peak.
Moreover, Meta's track record is dotted with numerous copycat products and features that failed to gain momentum, although there have been a few exceptions, like the widely successful Instagram Stories.
Click here to follow Top Headline News-All about Latest and updated news site in Google News
Nonetheless, the promising beginnings of Threads have injected new life into a company that faced challenges like layoffs, scandals, and competition from TikTok, particularly for younger users.
The inside tale of Threads' inception, shared with The Washington Post by Mosseri and six other current and former team members, is being celebrated by Meta's leaders as a fresh direction amidst struggles with their ambitious and costly venture to build a virtual-reality-driven "metaverse," which has faced setbacks and dwindling employee morale.
Empowered by Zuckerberg's directive to take significant risks, Mosseri curated a streamlined team, primarily comprising engineers, with fewer than 60 members, determined to rapidly create a rudimentary app resembling a start-up's urgency rather than a well-established tech giant.
During an investor address following Meta's impressive earnings report, Zuckerberg showcased Threads as a testament to his "year of efficiency," wherein he streamlined the workforce by eliminating tens of thousands of jobs to foster more agile teams capable of swift product delivery.
The remarkable creation of Threads by a small, unnamed group within Meta has left employees in awe. Speaking confidentially about internal affairs and backed by private messages seen by The Post, current and former employees share their astonishment at the rapid development of the product.
This success serves as a reminder that well-executed product launches can bypass the bureaucratic constraints that a company with tens of thousands of employees usually encounters.
On the anonymous workplace app, Blind, one individual wrote, "Swift execution. No frills, just solid engineering that most of our individual contributors can handle, if not for the restrictions holding them back."
%20(1).jpg "Racing Against Time: The Exclusive Account of Meta's Triumph in Creating Threads Ahead of Musk") |
| Image Source: washingtonpost.com |
With Threads' daily users now in decline, the team faces a new challenge: transforming the basic Twitter clone into a vibrant social network with a distinct identity and lasting appeal.
'Prioritize simplicity as the initial step'
In Meta's eyes, Twitter had long been seen as a competitor, and rumors circulated that Zuckerberg had attempted to acquire the platform back in 2008 with a hefty $500 million offer.
However, despite Twitter's cultural and political impact, its business remained just a fraction of Zuckerberg's vast empire, never posing a serious threat with its 237.8 million daily users and $5 billion in annual revenue.
Mosseri acknowledged that Twitter didn't turn out to be the business they had anticipated. Yet, everything changed when Musk took the reins at Twitter and made bold decisions, like limiting post reach for non-verified users. Seizing the opportunity, Meta's executives sprang into action.
Zuckerberg was eager to have Threads up and running by January, an ambitious timeline after giving the project the green light. Mosseri and long-time product leader Connor Hayes managed the work but advised the CEO that assembling the right team was paramount.
In the following months, they diligently recruited a group of engineers, focusing on individuals willing to be resourceful and work through tasks rapidly. Mosseri tapped talent from Messenger, Instagram, and Facebook to ensure success.
Recently, Meta faced accusations from Twitter's attorney, Alex Spiro, who claimed they had poached Twitter employees to rapidly develop their "copycat" app. However, Meta's spokesperson, Andy Stone, refuted the claim, stating that no former Twitter employees were part of the Threads engineering team.
In the beginning, the squad consisted of merely two product managers and one or two designers, supported by a substantial number of engineers. This structure deviated from the usual Meta product teams, emphasizing a flatter hierarchy and putting more emphasis on coders' contributions.
As the project progressed, the team expanded to include three product managers, three designers, and a talented group of 50 coders. Contrary to the conventional 30-minute presentations on singular design choices at Facebook and Instagram, their approach involved addressing six critical aspects that needed attention throughout the week, fostering a more dynamic and efficient decision-making process.
The entire journey was a reflection of the tumultuous period at Meta, characterized by substantial divisions, as the company underwent significant layoffs, letting go of over 20,000 employees. This restructuring was strategically aimed at restoring the company to what Zuckerberg termed "a more favorable balance between engineers and other positions."
%20(1).jpg "Racing Against Time: The Exclusive Account of Meta's Triumph in Creating Threads Ahead of Musk") |
| Image Source: washingtonpost.com |
In order to maintain momentum, the Threads team strategically postponed challenging choices and omitted certain complex features like private messaging, content search, and viewing feeds of non-followers. Additionally, they made the decision not to launch in the European Union due to upcoming regulatory requirements demanding more algorithm-related information from tech companies.
Adam Mosseri emphasized the importance of starting with simple functionalities first, as it aids in curbing scope creep, the tendency to continually add numerous features due to their appeal.
Meta has a history of swiftly introducing products to compete in the market, and Threads is not an exception.
Back in 2020, Meta ventured into the short-form video realm with Instagram Reels, a direct rival to TikTok, as revealed by Sam Saliba, the former global brand marketing lead for Instagram. At that time, TikTok faced political uncertainties due to concerns raised by President Donald Trump about its Chinese ownership, leading to potential bans or forced sales.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Meta decided to expedite the launch of Reels, even though the initial version was quite basic and minimal, as described by Saliba. The company adopted a "launch first, iterate later" approach, allowing them to get their foot in the door quickly. (Meta's spokeswoman, Seine Kim, stated that the development of Reels had actually spanned over a year.)
In crafting Threads, Meta envisions a platform that aims to sidestep the political complexities that have embroiled other social media networks like Twitter. Mosseri's recent remarks sparked discussions when he expressed that Threads wouldn't actively promote politics and "hard news" due to the potential scrutiny outweighing the added engagement.
Expanding on this stance, Meta's president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, further explained in an interview that the company's approach would likely involve empowering users to have more control over their content, rather than introducing specific news-focused features. On a different note, Zuckerberg proudly embraced the presence of his favorite mixed martial arts athletes on the platform.
As Threads gains momentum, Meta could confront the daunting task of navigating politically charged dilemmas akin to the challenges they encountered with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Prominent figures in journalism and media were among the first to embrace Threads, utilizing the platform to disseminate breaking news, often provoking partisan responses. Notably, politicians like Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and various Republican presidential contenders, including Mike Pence, swiftly embraced the platform as well.
"Addressing Political Discourse: Meta Faces Criticism for Prioritizing Speed Over Safety in Threads Development," says Yael Eisenstat, Vice President at the Anti-Defamation League and former senior Facebook policy official. Eisenstat expressed concerns over Meta's approach, urging the company to consider potential risks of hate speech, harassment, and political misinformation before launching Threads.
%20(1).jpg "Racing Against Time: The Exclusive Account of Meta's Triumph in Creating Threads Ahead of Musk") |
| Image Source: washingtonpost.com |
She remarked, "I had hoped we moved beyond the 'move fast and break things' mindset," referring to Facebook's previous internal motto. Eisenstat emphasized that Meta, given its history, should have learned from past mistakes and integrated robust safety mechanisms, privacy assurances, and integrity products into Threads.
In response, Meta's Kim defended the company, stating, "Our industry-leading integrity enforcement tools and human review are intricately woven into Threads."
'Do we have full confidence in these figures?'
"When Musk made a public announcement on July 1 regarding Twitter's temporary limit on daily tweet reading to combat spam and bots, it caught Meta's attention. Typically, new app launches encounter delays as teams work through issues, but Mosseri and the team at Meta decided to accelerate the launch date of Threads by approximately one week. (A couple of weeks later, Mosseri also unveiled a countermeasure to tackle a spam surge on their own platform.)
Realizing that the app might appear in some international app stores prematurely, Meta swiftly adapted again, managing to shave off a few more hours before the official launch.
That eventful night, a dedicated "core group" collaborated at Meta headquarters while Mosseri and other team members engaged in discussions on an internal messaging forum, witnessing a remarkable influx of sign-ups. Team members were amazed, prompting questions like, "Are we certain about these numbers? Can someone double-check if the logging is accurate?"
As the team witnessed the overwhelming surge in sign-ups surpassing all expectations, Mosseri revealed that they couldn't help but speculate on how high the numbers could climb. However, their excitement was soon dampened as the influx of users caused around a dozen significant technical issues on the very first day.
Nonetheless, their ambitious timeline appeared to be justified: the following day, Zuckerberg publicly praised the early success of the apps, hailing it as the "beginning of something special."
For the first time in years, Meta had a viral sensation on their hands – the first internally developed hit since the original Facebook app.
Within the company, there was a sense of celebration and, possibly, relief, as current and former employees flooded Blind with discussions about the app's initial triumph, as revealed in messages viewed by The Post.
However, convincing users to sign up for a Twitter alternative is one challenge, while retaining them is another hurdle that Mastodon, Bluesky, and various startups have faced.
As of the past week, external analytics services detected significant declines in Threads' engagement. On Google's Android platform, the number of daily users plummeted from a peak of 49 million on July 7 (nearly half of Twitter's user base) to just 12.6 million on July 23, as per Similarweb's estimates.
%20(1).jpg "Racing Against Time: The Exclusive Account of Meta's Triumph in Creating Threads Ahead of Musk") |
| Image Source: washingtonpost.com |
Though Mosseri didn't directly verify these figures, he acknowledged the existence of a "novelty spike" when a trendy social experience is launched. He believes that the initial peak might not have been as remarkable as people claimed, and the current stabilization phase is not as dire as some are suggesting.
Threads' sudden surge in popularity compelled Mosseri to shorten his recent vacation in Italy to address a flood of requests and concerns from other teams within Meta, particularly in communications and policy. To maintain the productivity of the core Threads team, Mosseri emphasized the need for focus on integrating features expected by users in a comprehensive social app.
When asked about Threads' long-term success, Mosseri opted for a pragmatic approach rather than his typical visionary outlook at Meta. He outlined four immediate priorities: streamlining user's lists of followed people, enhancing algorithms for content curation, providing users with an option to view posts solely from those they follow, and devising a messaging system between users.
He stressed the urgency of addressing these fundamental aspects swiftly, emphasizing that these fixes are critical.
Only five days after Mosseri's interview, Threads launched a series of updates, including a feed that exclusively displays posts from followed individuals.
The internal excitement surrounding Threads validated the advice Mosseri received from Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom when Mosseri succeeded him in 2018. Systrom suggested that delivering functional products was the most effective way to boost morale within a company, even during challenging times of missteps and layoffs.
As Mosseri recalled, Systrom advised him to concentrate more on delivering functional products rather than extensive conversations. By doing so, everything else would become more manageable and promising.
Gerrit De Vynck was a contributing author for this report.
.jpg&description=Racing Against Time: The Exclusive Account of Meta's Triumph in Creating Threads Ahead of Musk){kind=link}
0 Comments