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The Indicator from Planet Money

The life and death spirals of social networks

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

Business

4.79.2K Ratings

🗓️ 3 August 2023

⏱️ 9 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Meta's new social media platform, Threads, had a rocket-like start when it launched a month ago as a challenger to X (formerly known as Twitter). But it's far from clear which platform will prove dominant. Today, an expert in online networks walks us through the economics of this social media battle.

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Transcript

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0:00.0

NPR.

0:12.0

This is Ian DeKyder from Planet Money, I'm Darian Woods.

0:14.7

And I'm Whalen Wong.

0:16.0

We are about a month into the launch of Threads, the new social network app from Instagram.

0:21.3

And what a month it has been.

0:23.6

First Threads had a record breaking debut, then after the initial rush, engagement seemed

0:28.2

to follow a cliff.

0:29.3

Yeah, it was a sugar rush of social media excitement.

0:32.9

You know, Twitter is looking on a little jealous, so it gets an image change.

0:36.6

It changes its name to X.

0:38.6

Then the company puts up and takes down a big glowing X on the roof of its corporate headquarters in San Francisco.

0:45.1

And the platform formerly known as Twitter is still kind of trucking along.

0:49.8

I mean, I'm still posting and reading tweets.

0:52.6

So am I.

0:53.7

But Threads does present a competitive threat in a way that other alternatives

0:58.3

haven't so far.

0:59.6

Can it go all the way and become the dominant app for short-form posts?

1:04.2

That's the question.

1:05.2

So today on the show, an economist who specialises in online networks

1:09.5

helps us tease out the different ways the social media battle could play out.

1:14.6

And along the way, he tries to find where all the other economists are hanging out.

1:19.2

That's after the break.

...

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