Elon Posts Laughing Emoji After X Surpasses Instagram & Facebook in Traffic: "We're Not Dead Yet 😂"

This article was written with the help of A.I. software.*

Elon responds to Google's latest traffic reportsPhoto bythe author (licensed under CC BY 4.0)

Last week, Elon Musk posted the following message to X, after reports surfaced of the newly renovated platform surpassing Instagram and Facebook in driving traffic through Google:

"Guess we’re not dead yet 😂".

The post was in response to public disapproval over many of X's new changes including removing headlines from news articles and charging for posts.

An Upstream Swim.

Since purchasing Twitter for $44 billion back in 2022, Elon Musk has been facing constant public scrutiny for almost every decision he's made. And, since rebranding Twitter as X, retiring the iconic bird logo and reducing its workforce by approximately 80%, the company has seen a decrease in total revenue.

In March of this year, Musk told employees,

"Twitter’s value had dropped by more than half, to $20 billion."

In July, he said the company was still cash-flow negative, citing the drop in ad revenue.

The transformation of X has been met with mixed reactions, and some observers have been predicting the platform's decline, especially after Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, "Meta", introduced a rival app named “Threads.”

The Decline of Threads as a Competitor

Despite an initial surge of sign-ups, Threads, a competitor to X, has experienced a sharp decline in user retention. Daily active users on Threads are down 70%, with users spending significantly less time on the app compared to its launch.

And, several reports indicate Threads has lost about 80% of its users. According MarketWatch report,

"The daily active user count hovers around only 1.1 million these days. That’s a sharp decline even from July, when about 3.4 million people were using the app."

The main factors contributing to this decline include an algorithm-based timeline and the absence of key features such as a proper search function and a working desktop version. Furthermore, the continued presence of Twitter as a functioning platform has hindered Threads from becoming a meaningful alternative.

The lack of a chronological feed on Threads has frustrated users who prefer to see posts in real-time, which is a feature that Twitter offers. Additionally, the absence of a comprehensive search function on Threads limits users' ability to find relevant content and engage in meaningful conversations. These shortcomings have resulted in users spending less time on the app and ultimately losing interest.

According to a senior contributor at Forbes, at the end of the day, Threads "just isn't catching on with users."

The Relevance of X in Today's Landscape

X has established itself as a major platform for news content and real-time updates. With its large user base and the ability for users to share their views and decisions on various topics, X has become a go-to source for breaking news. Users often turn to X for unbiased information, which is frequently provided faster than traditional news outlets.

While X may be performing better than some people had anticipated, investors might not want to ignore Meta — as the company remains a behemoth in the social media industry. According to Jing Pan from Yahoo Finance,

"Meta's third-quarter earnings report, for the period ending Sept. 30, 2023, shows Facebook had reached 3.05 billion monthly active users, a 3% increase from the previous year."

As X surpasses Instagram and Facebook in Google Traffic, it solidifies its position as a leading news source in the social media landscape. With the support and involvement of Elon Musk, X's growth and relevance are further reinforced. Despite facing challenges and controversies, X remains a dominant platform for sharing information and providing real-time news updates.

Hey, I'm Hudson! I write about social media, marketing, and modern entrepreneurship. Hit follow for more stories like this one.