Threads lacks any of the magic of a new social network because it already built its own caste system. If you had a big Instagram following, it automatically guaranteed you a big Threads following, except the biggest accounts on Instagram do not produce the kind of content that makes a network like Threads interesting to use. Twitter’s value was that your thoughts could theoretically stand toe-to-toe with a celebrity or influencer’s. By cramming popular accounts into the network from day one, Meta has decided who will be popular.
Threads isn’t built for you to talk to other people — it’s built to inject insipid “content” into your life and interfere with as much of the human experience as possible. Perhaps it’s because Zuckerberg already saw how unprofitable Twitter is and decided the only way to do this would be to make a significantly worse experience.
More fundamentally, Threads isn’t a social network. It’s a marketing channel for the least-interesting people on Earth. It’s exactly what you’d expect of a text-based Instagram — a mediocre algorithmic nightmare of content slop that barely resembles entertainment.
Ed Zitron
Harsh words for a product that’s barely a week old – a reflection of current times when people are treated to more engagement for quick and radical takes. To include Twitter in some idealized ‘honest internet’ is a gross exaggeration – people may be more authentic there, but there’s no shortage of self-promotion, propaganda, and misinformation, just like elsewhere. I think we can acknowledge the unique Twitter culture pre-Musk without placing it on a pedestal that it never earned.
That being said, there’s a considerable core of truth behind this opinion on Threads. The tight connection to an Instagram profile has already raised some eyebrows: apparently you can’t delete a Threads profile without deleting the associated Instagram account, and the aggressive data sharing has stopped Meta from launching the app in the European Union. I haven’t seen this discussed so far, but having the same handle on both networks could dilute any pretense at anonymity, since anyone can look up a Treads user’s Instagram presence and deduce information about them – and anonymity was one of the key advantages of Twitter compared to other large social networks.
Concerning
I never cared about a chronological timeline as much as some are constantly clamoring, but recommendation algorithms do play a crucial role in shaping a certain vibe. Already Adam Mosseri made comments that they’re not going to encourage politics and hard news on Threads, one of the key drivers of engagement on Twitter. If Meta can succeed at that is another question – social networks tend to take on a life of their own – but their intent seems to be promoting brand-safe content (and targeting ads against it). Steering away from controversies is understandable from Meta’s viewpoint, but it won’t facilitate the same mix of breaking news and direct access to experts as on Twitter if posts about let’s say cluster munitions or the latest viral outbreak are quietly shoved aside in favor of vapid celebrity drama.
I think if Mark Zuckerberg knew that launching a Twitter copy was all he needed to do to make the world forget (within a week) that he helped rebrand nazism for the best part of a decade, he probably would have launched it sooner.
— Michael Spicer (@MrMichaelSpicer) July 9, 2023
Personally I think it’s way too early to tell if and how Threads will become successful. It’s disconcerting to see people cheering this product as if all Facebook’s past misdeeds have been washed away in an instant, only because Mark Zuckerberg is seen as the lesser evil between him and Elon Musk. But I have to admit it’s funny seeing Mark trolling Elon on Threads, with Musk powerless to stop him.
Post a Comment