A week after Instagram Threads announced the testing of its search feature in Australia and New Zealand, the feature is now expanding to “most” English and Spanish-speaking countries, including Argentina, India, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This expansion aims to allow users to seek out keywords and topics being discussed on the platform, creating a more comprehensive search experience.
Key Takeaway
Threads by Meta is expanding its search feature to include a wider range of countries, enhancing the user experience on the platform.
The Journey of Threads and User Engagement
Threads, Meta’s attempt at rivaling Twitter, initially had a basic search feature that only surfaced Threads users, without considering their content. However, with the recent launch of a full-text search feature, users now have the ability to explore and discover relevant content and conversations on the platform, making it more dynamic and engaging.
Instagram, the parent app of Threads, has been actively working on increasing engagement within its app. Threads had a strong start, becoming the fastest app to reach 100 million users due to its seamless integration with Instagram. However, user activity has declined since its launch in July.
To address this decline, Threads has been quick to roll out requested features, such as search and a fully functional web app. However, despite these efforts, data suggests that the impact on user activity has been limited. The recent web app launch resulted in only a 3% increase in traffic on a global scale.
The Need for Additional Features
While Threads has introduced features like a chronological feed, likes overview, reposts tab, and minor tweaks, users still require more to fully embrace the platform. Notably, features like lists, bookmarks, and trends are deemed essential to compete with other platforms.
Without the combination of both search and trends, Threads falls short of being a compelling platform. The real-time news and global conversation hub elements that made Twitter successful are currently missing from Threads’ offering.
In a timely manner, the expansion of search comes amidst X owner Elon Musk’s controversial behavior and threats against the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Musk blames the ADL for X’s declining ad revenues, rather than acknowledging the platform’s less stringent moderation policies that have led to an increase in antisemitic content and hate speech, according to the ADL and other sources.
The Future of Threads
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has indicated that the search feature will continue to roll out to more markets, signaling the company’s commitment to further enhancing the user experience. It is expected that after English and Spanish-speaking markets, Threads will expand into additional countries.
Threads is not the only Twitter competitor focusing on search capabilities. Mastodon has also recently announced the introduction of advanced search features, allowing users to filter posts on its top instance using specific search operators.
Overall, the expansion of Threads’ search feature is a significant step towards improving the platform’s user experience, and it will be interesting to see how these updates influence user activity and engagement in the coming months.
