Threads Updates: New Communities & Badges for Engagement

Threads Expands Communities Feature

Meta’s Threads social network is increasing the variety of topics accessible through its communities feature, as was announced by the company on Monday. This development has the potential to encourage users to spend less time on platforms like Reddit and X.

Initially, the platform introduced over 100 communities in October. These covered areas such as basketball, television, K-pop, and literature, aiming to enhance competition with other social networks. Now, with the latest expansion, Threads boasts more than 200 communities.

New Community Additions

The expansion includes spaces dedicated to specific teams, like Lakers Threads, Knicks Threads, and Spurs Threads. This provides a more focused experience for fans.

Threads is also currently evaluating the implementation of flairs within communities. This functionality, commonly found on Reddit, allows users to display a customizable label beneath their username.

For example, within an NBA community, a user can showcase their supported team using a flair. Alternatively, in a books community, a user can identify themselves as an author.

Introducing “Champion” Badges

A “Champion” badge is being tested to recognize and reward highly active community members. This badge is being distributed to a select group of individuals.

These recipients are characterized by both a substantial follower count within the community and consistent, active participation in discussions.

Growth and User Engagement

Threads, a competitor to Elon Musk’s X and emerging platforms like Bluesky, surpassed 400 million users in August, two years after its initial launch.

The company also reported that over 150 million people now access the site on a daily basis this fall.

Threads continues to prioritize user engagement and retention. Recent efforts include the introduction of features like Direct Messages (DMs), Group chats, and ephemeral posts.

These additions are designed to provide a more comprehensive and engaging social experience.