X, formerly known as Twitter, has seen a decrease in both its daily active user base and average time spent per user over the past few years. However, further investigation suggests that X’s grip on the microblogging market may be more permanent than previously believed. Despite a general decrease in activity, X has managed to keep a sizable user base and steady levels of engagement. This piece examines the metrics, user behavior, and competition of the microblogging landscape to determine what makes X so sticky.
Changing Patterns of Inactivity
Sensor Tower reports that the number of people using X on a daily basis fell by 16% in September and decreased by 2% year over year in the third quarter. Traffic and MAU for X have been on the decline, according to another research firm, Similarweb. The loss of long-term Twitter/X users may not be the only reason for the service’s dwindling DAUs, according to Apptopia, a provider of app intelligence. Instead, it may be because the Twitter brand name has been removed from app stores and the rebranding to X has discouraged potential new users from signing up.
It’s important to remember that a drop in activity doesn’t always mean people are leaving a platform. Instead, it emphasizes how difficult it will be to replace former users with new ones after the rebrand. Instagram Threads’ introduction, with its subsequent promotion of the word “Twitter,” has only served to further muddy the waters.
Rivals and Overlapping Audiences
New competitors like Threads have not been able to lure users away from X, despite the platform’s dwindling popularity. According to Apptopia’s calculations, only 10% of X users downloaded Threads, Instagram’s Twitter competitor, within the first month of its release. It dropped to 5% not long after the app was made available. Even when Threads attracted X users, those users still spent more time on X than they did on Threads.
Initial user engagement with Instagram Threads and X was relatively even, with users spending 23.8 and 31.1 minutes on the two apps, respectively. Users of both apps in September, however, spent significantly less time on Threads (3.7 minutes) than on X (16.9 minutes). This suggests that X continues to attract and engage users even as Threads, backed by Instagram parent company Meta, nears 100 million MAU per month.
U.S. X Superusers and Their Enduring Influence
Even though X’s top decile of American users are less active than they were a year ago, they still account for a significant portion of the platform’s traffic. According to Appotopia, they spend 72.4% of all time spent by X users in the United States. From January 2022 (73.1%) to February 2022 (72.9%), this percentage has dropped by only a fraction. This suggests that the proportion of time spent by high-volume users in the United States has remained relatively constant since Elon Musk acquired Twitter and rebranded it as X.
Daily active users in the United States continue to invest a lot of time on X. As of January 2022, the typical user spends 18.8 minutes per day on X. Users still spent 19.8 minutes on X per day after the launch of Threads in July. The figure jumped to 20.6, an all-time high, by September of 2023.
Comparison of X’s Rivals and Their “Stickiness”
Even though X’s popularity is on the decline, its stickiness is posing a problem for would-be competitors. The company formerly known as Pebble (and previously known as T2) has announced its closure due to the intense competition it faced after attempting to compete with X by mimicking Twitter’s features. The founders recognized how long X’s network effect would last and how challenging it would be to compete with a platform that already had such a sizable user base.
Threads, thanks to its cooperation with Instagram and the support of Meta, may yet be able to compete with X, but competitors like Spill, Spoutible, Bluesky, Mastodon, and others may have trouble convincing X users to switch to their services.
See first source: TechCrunch
FAQ
1. What is X, formerly known as Twitter, currently facing in terms of user activity?
X has seen a decline in its daily active user base (DAU) and average time spent per user in recent years. However, further investigation reveals that X still maintains a sizable user base and steady levels of engagement despite the decline.
2. What factors have contributed to the decline in X’s daily active users (DAU)?
Research firms like Sensor Tower and Similarweb report a decrease in DAUs for X. Part of this decline may be attributed to the removal of the Twitter brand name from app stores and the rebranding to X. This may have discouraged new users from signing up.
3. Does a drop in activity mean that users are leaving the platform entirely?
Not necessarily. A drop in activity indicates the challenge of replacing former users with new ones after a rebrand. The introduction of Instagram Threads, which promotes the word “Twitter,” has further complicated the landscape.
4. How successful have X’s competitors been in luring users away from the platform?
New competitors like Instagram Threads have struggled to attract and engage X users. Only 10% of X users downloaded Threads within the first month of its release, and users still spent more time on X than on Threads, even when they tried the latter.
5. What is the significance of U.S. X superusers in maintaining X’s traffic?
Despite being less active than they were a year ago, the top decile of American X users still account for a significant portion (72.4%) of the platform’s traffic. This suggests that high-volume users continue to contribute significantly to X’s activity.
6. How much time do daily active users in the United States spend on X?
As of September 2023, the typical daily active user in the United States spends an all-time high of 20.6 minutes per day on X, indicating the platform’s enduring appeal.
7. How does X’s “stickiness” compare to its rivals in the microblogging market?
X’s stickiness, or its ability to retain and engage users, poses a challenge for would-be competitors. Some competitors have faced intense competition and difficulty in convincing X users to switch to their services due to X’s established user base and network effect.
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