threads by meta

At its core, a mostly tech-based social platform is child’s play for any competent developer…but the secret sauce is in people wanting to be there.

It’s why Mastodon isn’t the heir-apparent to Twitter. That platform is too hard and siloed to figure out. And since it’s not algorithm-based, it feels even emptier.

It’s why Bluesky isn’t good. That platform is a ghost town because of the Draconian invite system that was last effective for Gmail…a patently non-social platform.

It’s why Clubhouse, Apple’s Ping, and Google+ ultimately failed.

And it’s why I think if anything is going to replace Twitter¹, it will be Threads.

First, Threads is made by Meta/Instagram. If you’ll remember, they tried to buy Snapchat for $3BN. When Snapchat declined, Instagram rolled out Stories and more or less ended Snapchat’s meteoric rise to social media power.

That also means they also have a TON of people…2 Billion I believe…who can easily join the platform, profile, followers and all. No invite needed…just an instagram account.

They reached 2 million users in 2 hours. That’s the power of leveraging their current Instagram user base.

Next, because it’s algorithm-based, it feels busy. Maybe a little too busy right now, but that will mellow out.

But it definitely doesn’t feel like a ghost town, which means people want to be there.

Finally, they timed it right. This was in the works for a while, but they launched after another tumultuous weekend for Twitter.

Every time Elon does something stupid, people leave (or at least threaten to). Without a suitable replacement, many end up coming back. Threads feels like that suitable replacement.

Expect them to iterate quickly. Threads already has some features Instagram users want, like clickable links. But I expect DMs (probably, sadly, through Messenger), hashtags, and a web-based interface to come soon.

Are you on Threads? Give me a follow, @jcasabona

1. BIG if. ?