Because famous figures or organizations are the primary draw for the mainstream audience over random users. And many use it because they themselves hope to use the huge platform to promote or try to become an influencer.
Yep, without actual big content creators the platform is just randos talking about their private life. That's not inherently a bad thing but Mastodon often feels to me more like Facebook for software developers than something like Twitter where'd if actually find interesting new people to follow or art/music/games to enjoy.
Lack of proper discovery tools and algorithm is also a big issue.
I'd bet most of the people on theads aren't looking for a "Twitter alternative" they just clicked on the button in the Instagram app. The rest are lost journos and clout chasers.
Threads was able to be pushed through other large commercial platforms, and onboarding was trivial for anyone coming through the portal.
Mastodon lacks that kind of exposure and the onboarding process of choosing an instance makes it feel more confusing.
As a result, Threads starts off with a network effect that is quite a bit more advanced than Mastodon’s. It has more high profile users that maintain an active account. It also claims to want to join the fediverse, which makes users think that they can easily onboard with Mastodon in the near future.
I can't help you much, unfortunately. I've been nearly inactive since I feel sick months ago and I stopped going to Twitter. If you search for FGC, I'm sure you can find interlinked big accounts.
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Threads, Instagram’s X (formerly Twitter) competitor, is struggling to keep users around following its blockbuster launch, according to data from Insider Intelligence.
The data, which was first reported on by CNBC, suggests that Threads will have far fewer monthly active users than Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok by the end of this year, but it may still have a chance to close the gap with X.
Surprisingly, Elon Musk’s X is forecast to have 56.1 million active monthly users in the US by the end of 2023, but Insider Intelligence warns that this number won’t stay high for long.
“Threads received an initial boost from Twitter’s missteps, but it can’t rely on X defectors to continue to grow,” Jasmine Enberg, Insider Intelligence’s principal analyst, says in a statement.
However, the number of daily active users on the platform rapidly declined in the following weeks, with Sensor Tower and Similarweb reporting significant drop-offs.
Although Threads is meant to be a direct replacement for X, it may need to add more than just core features in order for it to gain and keep new users.
It's not 2006 anymore. Any social media company is going to have a hard time getting the success Twitter had because the internet different than it was a decade ago and Twitter contributed a LOT to bubbles and social media fatigue.