Why there's no escaping Meta's gravitational pull

Meta, formerly Facebook, leverages "network effect" (the value of any communication platform increases as users increase) to grow its dominance in social — now on Threads!

Meta’s Facebook has 3 billion users (give or take a few thousand). Meta’s WhatsApp has 2 billion users. Meta’s Instagram has 2 billion users.

There’s lots of overlap (individual people each using two or three of these Meta services). But there’s no question: Meta’s dominance in social is near total.

So when Meta CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg decided that Elon Musk’s fumbling at Twitter represented an opportunity to win the affection of disaffected Twitter users, it really shouldn’t be a surprise that Threads is succeeding wildly.

The new social network reportedly gained more than 100 million followers in its first week. That sounds amazing. But consider that 100 million represents only 5% of Instagram users. (And Threads is really part of Instagram.)

Also: Meta used two manipulative dirty tricks to keep its numbers high. First, Thread’s policy is that if you delete your Threads account, your Instagram account gets deleted, too. So those trying and not liking Threads look identical on paper as those trying and liking.

Second, Threads has only an algorithmic feed. Like TikTok, which prioritizes lists and followers and focuses on algorithmic selection of posts, Threads is instantly addictive, according to users. (The ability to follow only people one follows is promised for later.)

Meta is a deeply unethical company. But, it turns out: Nobody cares. And the reason is something called network effects.

Oh, and Ten More Things:

1. Meta’s Threads passes 100 million users; faster than ChatGPT; fastest growing social net ever

2. Twitter traffic declined since Threads launched

3. Instagram head Adam Mosseri detailed new features coming to Threads

4. Big win for Google and Meta: Europe to allow US tech companies to store European-user data in the US under new agreement

5. Pew: Strong majority of Americans (59%) see TikTok as a threat to US national security

6. A video showing what is alleged to be a Tesla people-mover for tunnels dug by Elon Musk’s Boring Company has leaked

7. A solid analysis of Sarah Silverman’s lawsuit against OpenAI and Meta

8. Google’s augmented reality chief, Mark Lucovsky, left the company.

9. US and Chile Evernote employees to be laid off; Evernote moves to Europe

10. San Francisco is hotbed of testing for self-driving cars, but residents seem to hate them

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Mike’s Location: Northern California

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