In a world where social media platforms come and go faster than you can say ‘Tweet’, Meta’s Threads, the latest feather in its cap, seems to be no exception. Fresh out of the box, Threads was introduced as a potential game-changer, touted as the next Twitter rival.

The air was thick with anticipation, the confetti was in the air, and the fanfare was ear-deafening, quite literally. However, much like that midnight fireworks show that fizzles out too quickly, Threads’ hype ended as abruptly as it began.

Racking up an impressive 100 million sign-ups in the first week, the new app showcased a shimmering promise. But, as the old saying goes, “All that glitters is not gold.”

Even Meta’s own Instagram couldn’t stop the downward spiral, despite lending a helping hand in promoting Threads. Only ten days into its existence and we are already hearing the fading echoes of what was meant to be an earth-shattering roar.

Data reports, you know, those party poopers who always love to burst the bubble, reveal that Threads started with approximately 49 million daily active users (DAU) when it first launched in early July. Sadly, by the end of the second week, that number had been slashed in half to 23 million DAU. No one likes a nosedive, especially not when your company’s reputation hangs in the balance.

Threads was designed to mirror Twitter’s layout, minus the substance. Oh, you can create, repost, and like content, but unlike Twitter, news is as scarce as a Yeti sighting. Twitter’s immense popularity comes from its ability to deliver real-time news, be it about world politics or Beyoncé’s latest album. Threads? Well, it gives you the experience of shouting into a void with only your Instagram friends to hear you. Not quite the democratic platform it promised to be, huh?

But wait, there’s more. Threads, despite claiming to be a Twitter rival, lacks one of Twitter’s most valued features – anonymity. You can’t be the incognito critic or the undercover activist. No, you are tied to your Instagram account like an anchor, and there’s no sailing into anonymous waters. And the cherry on top? A new rate limit on posts to deter spam accounts. All that is going to mean, as per Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, is more false positives and a potential outcry from its user base.

Even Elon Musk couldn’t resist throwing some shade at the platform, criticising it from the get-go. Threads seems like an overhyped underperformer, hanging by a thread and grappling for relevance. Yet, it’s just another testament to the fickle nature of our digital age, where, for every breakthrough app that stands the test of time, there are countless others that disappear faster than you can say ‘Uninstall.’