You Know I Had to Write About Threads

I’m too terminally online not to have day-one opinions

July 07, 2023

Welcome Back

Next time I take a week off, I’m gonna also take a week off from aggregating platform updates and culture stories. Cause… this is a lotta links. Enjoy! 

Platform Updates

Instagram & Threads

The Rest of Meta 

TikTok

YouTube

Google 

Reddit

LinkedIn 

Twitch 

Snap 

Twitter

The Product 

The Dumpster Fire

Twitter Alts 

Culture Movers 

Laws

Film & TV

Creator Economy 

AI 

Thoughts on Threads

As of writing this newsletter, I’ve had access to Threads, a Twitter clone from Meta not affiliated with their now defunct app previously named Threads, for about 24 hours. It’s alright. It’s far too early to know if this thing will have sticking power. All we really have to go off of right now is vibes. So I think the most useful thing I can do right now is actually describe those vibes and how they might play a role in the future of microblogging social apps. 

A meme of the “4 Twitters” made from a famous pic of Timothee Chalamet, Wes Anderson, Tilda Swinton and Bill Murray at Cannes from 2021 where they are each dressed wildly different. Timmy is very causal and labeled “Threads.” Wes Anderson looks hella awkward in a pale suit and is labeled “Twitter.” Tilda looks like a fucking goddess in a striking Blue pantsuit and is labeled “Bluesky.” Bill looks like your awkward uncle just got back from a fishing/mushrooms trip and is labeled “Mastodon.”

The signup process for Threads is super smooth. It’s Instagram, so you just link that account up, and you’re in. This is also where the chaos begins. You can tell Threads to follow anyone you also follow on Instagram automatically. This is hell for your notifications tab, but more importantly, I’m not sure it’s what every user will want or what the app needs to succeed. 

I often take gym selfies. The validation is nice, and it kills time between sets. Today I fired up my camera app, framed up a mid selfie, and didn’t know where on Meta to put it. If all of the same folks follow me in both places, do I post it to Threads and my Story? Just one? Does it matter? 

There’s also the “Terrible Uncle Problem.” My Instagram following and follower lists are littered with miscellaneous connections I’ve accumulated over the years with my account. Former coworkers, college friends, guys I made out with at the club once and never saw again. Do I really want to read their Twitter-style posts? Do they want to see mine? Do I even want them to see my posts? Feeling slightly more connected to folks who’ve never been Twitter power users has been nice, but my feed feels out of my control. 

Which brings us to my next issue: the recommended posts. Instagram’s strategy seems to be aggressively recommending posts from people you don’t follow early on while the app grows, but I fear it may backfire. I’ve seen so many posts (on Threads and Bluesky) complaining about the sheer volume of strangers in the Threads feed. Instagram’s slowly become more about seeing celebs, big influencers, and advertisers than just connecting with your friends. If Threads duplicates that dynamic, you’ll have some folks who want to replicate the horrific pain of Brand Twitter®, but I suspect most folks will feel like this isn’t a place for them. 

The Instagram network effect is powerful. The app was instantly active yesterday afternoon when I logged in. This is a sharp contrast to Bluesky, that’s taken a while to pick up as my network of digital connections acquires the app’s slowly distributed invite codes. At this point, though, both apps are equally active for me in terms of posts I actually want to see. 

Even the most professional parts of Gay Twitter™️ have always been adjacent to NSFW content. I think queer people are more likely to know someone who does sex work of some kind and are far less likely to view that negatively. Many of my online and IRL friends have made adult content of some kind at one point in their careers. They just can’t share it as easily on Instagram. Meta’s content policies are definitely a selling point if your only other option is the open bigotry of Musk’s approach to policy at Twitter. But many sex workers, sex educators, and just queer people in general sometimes have found Instagram’s terms of use and policy enforcement difficult. The chaotic and playful NSFW sense of humor on Gay Twitter™️ will not be possible on Threads but is very much alive on Bluesky at the moment. Meanwhile, I’ve seen LibsOfTikTok has a Threads account, so….

If you put a gun to my head and asked me to predict what Threads will look like in two years, I’d say this: Threads is gonna be one of those apps most people have but don’t really use. This is exactly how Twitter was at the height of its uses. Twitter loomed large over culture because the journalists, celebrities, and creators using the app as their assignment desk set the topic and tone of content across so many other places online. I don’t think Threads will recapture that central place on the web, but it won’t be a total flop either. I’m not sure any of these apps will play the role Twitter had in 2010s internet culture, which is probably a good thing. Not big enough to feel central to anything, but at Meta’s scale, even a small percentage of users can be monetized with ads. 

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Misc Updates

4th of July fireworks are no joke in my neighborhood. We’ve also got a very smelly flower here in San Francisco. Pride was a ton of fun, even if Google epically failed their queer employees and the San Francisco community this year. I got to see Aja, Big Freedia, and a ton of talented local DJs perform while dancing with my friends, so I had a good time. Actual Gronk is not a fan of Baby Gronk’s dad. Twinks on Fire Island are fighting about chicken fingers. Climate change made my work travel miserable, but I should probably get used to it.