Executives at Meta Platforms are prioritizing the enhancement of user retention for their new app, Threads, which has seen a significant decline in user numbers following its initial surge, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s remarks during an internal town hall on Thursday.
While the retention rates for Threads have exceeded some of the company’s expectations, Zuckerberg acknowledged that they were still lacking, referring to the situation as “not perfect.” The audio from the meeting was made available to Reuters.
“It’s clear that when over 100 million users register, we would ideally want a large portion of them to remain active. We’re still working toward that goal,” he stated.
Zuckerberg characterized the user drop-off as “normal,” expressing optimism that retention rates would improve with the introduction of new features, including a desktop version and enhanced search capabilities.
Meta is exploring additional strategies to strengthen user engagement, such as enabling Instagram users to see key Threads content, said Chris Cox, Chief Product Officer.
A spokesperson from Meta refrained from commenting on the details of the meeting.
The discussion regarding user retention followed a positive revenue growth forecast from Meta, which impressed investors and indicated a recovery for the company after a tumultuous period marked by skepticism over its investments in the metaverse amid falling ad revenues.
This announcement led to an 8 percent surge in Meta’s stock price on Thursday.
Zuckerberg reassured employees that their advancements in augmented and virtual reality technology are progressing well, describing the timeline as “on track,” though not significantly ahead of schedule.
He emphasized the necessity for Meta to continue investing in this technology to keep pace with competitors like Apple, Google, and Microsoft, which have more extensive experience with operating systems for current products.
“We need to be prepared with all the necessary tools by the time these technologies hit mainstream adoption,” he noted, predicting that widespread use of metaverse applications would occur around the 2030s.
The meeting also covered the recent launch of an AI model named Llama 2, which has been made available for free to developers with user bases under 700 million. Since its release, it has attracted over 150,000 download requests, according to Cox.
In response to a query regarding a proposed “cage match” with Elon Musk, Zuckerberg indicated uncertainty about whether the event would materialize.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
