Social network review: Threads
Last week, Meta (the owners of Facebook and Instagram) surprised everyone by giving an early launch to Threads, its own ActivityPub-based Twitter clone and the latest such federated competitor to arrive (after Mastodon, Bluesky, etc.).
Despite Threads’ short existence, the number of sign ups for Threads has exploded. As of July 10, The Verge reports Threads has surpassed a whopping 100 million subscribers, vastly eclipsing every other Twitter clone combined, and enough to put it in Wikipedia’s list of major social networks. Twitter owner Elon Musk already clearly feels pressured; he’s filed a lawsuit claiming Threads infringers on Twitter’s model.
While Threads has strong initial interest, there are plenty of questions about its usefulness as a social media service, or whether these initial users will stick around in the long run. I’ve already seen people compare Threads to Google+... remember that?
I thought I’d give Threads a try to see what it’s like; below are my thoughts.
Sign-up experience
One of Threads’ positive aspects is that it’s easy to sign up with the service. Since it’s based on Instagram, and uses one’s Instagram account to pre-fill information, followers, etc., signing up is straightforward: download the app (on Android and iOS) and follow the prompts.
The pros of Threads
The Threads app is easy to use, as it’s similar to the Instagram app in layout and features. Some of Thread’s features so far include blocking accounts, quote-reposting, and allowing posts up to 500 characters.
Threads is also tied into ActivityPub, the federated protocol that Mastodon and similar services use. While it’s not activated yet, Meta states it’ll be turned on in the future.
Given Threads’ ties to Instagram, popular accounts are already present. If you’re interested in following your favorite pop musician, media conglomerate, or your cousin Fred, they’ll be easy to find.
Finally, since it’s Meta, there’s some attention to moderation, unlike the current state of Twitter. And while Zuckerberg certainly has his flaws, at least he’s not actively trolling Threads users (or boosting anti-LGBTQ accounts), versus Musk on Twitter.
The cons of Threads
Unfortunately, those are the only positive aspects about Threads I can find. Overall, Threads is basically a text-only version of Instagram, but somehow with fewer features. For starters, there’s no web-based access; you can see profiles in a browser, but logging in to use the service requires an iOS or Android device. (The site also has some difficulties in Firefox, at least for me.) As someone who prefers using a computer with a real keyboard while at home, this alone makes Threads mostly a non-starter.
Another flaw: there’s no chronological feed available in Threads, only an algorithm-based feed, just like on its sister apps Instagram and Facebook. I had to scroll past a lot of extraneous accounts I don’t care about (influencers, spam, celebrities, etc.) to get to the people I actually follow. Not only is this not what Twitter users want, it also makes Threads useless for someone wanting real-time usage, say for news or sports. Of course, Meta noted news/politics aren’t a priority for the service, making it even less appealing for journalists or activists. An algorithm-only feed also makes using Threads difficult for independent creators to promote anything (just like Instagram or Facebook).
Meta’s somewhat strict content moderation rules also apply to Threads, meaning adult/not suitable for work (NSFW) content creators won’t find it useful. (Not that there are many options left for such creators.)
Threads, like Instagram and Facebook, also requires a lot of app permissions, as it’s heavily tracking users. Here’s a list of what information Threads and its rivals collect. (The most privacy friendly app? Mastodon, whose app collects nothing.) If privacy’s a concern, this app isn’t for you.
Finally, deleting your Threads account also means deleting your Instagram account. Yikes. While Meta also claims this will be addressed in the future, you might just want to delete the app until then.
Alternatives to Threads (and Twitter)
The best social network alternatives to Threads (and Twitter) at this point include:
Mastodon. I’ve enjoyed using Mastodon so far. Unfortunately, thanks to its sign up process, the general public’s written it off as “too hard to sign up for”/“for nerds.”
Bluesky. I’m enjoying Bluesky so far, as well. It’s easy to use and works similarly to Twitter. I’ve also found some familiar accounts from Twitter on Bluesky, including people who would never give Mastodon the time of day. However, it’s still in beta (as it’s missing a few features, like hashtags), and invite-only. The slow rollout makes me worry it’ll be eclipsed by Threads or some other service. Finally, Bluesky is developing its own federated protocol (a likely reason its rollout is taking awhile), which A) might be tough going against ActivityPub and B) is setting up a “format war?”
Tumblr. Probably the best old-school social network that’s text-based and isn’t owned by Zuckerberg or Musk. (If wondering, Automattic, the people behind WordPress, now owns Tumblr.) However, Tumblr’s still a shadow of its former self in number of users (after its “adult content purge” and other problems in the late 2010s). I also ran into some spam bot follower problems when I recently tried Tumblr.
Features in an ideal Twitter replacement
An ideal Twitter replacement should have (at bare minimum) the following features:
It’s easy to sign up for and use. As Mastodon proves, this step’s important. The average person doesn’t care what ideological reasons are behind making it difficult (or what “federation” is). Anything more complex than “sign up here > go straight to a signup form” is a non-starter.
A chronological feed. Otherwise, you may as well be using Facebook or Instagram (or Threads).
App and web-based access. Because not everyone wants to do everything in an app/using a touch screen.
Favorite/popular accounts are on it, or would want to be there. AKA “would Beyonce, the New York Knicks, CNN, or your cousin Fred use this?” Given people used Twitter as a glorified RSS reader to follow news/updates, a social network that would attract popular users (or family and friends) does matter.
Moderation and no (or, more realistically, somewhat fewer) bigots and trolls. Again, average users (especially if they’re people who look like me) don’t care about libertarian “free speech” excuses—they want to use their favorite social network without being harassed.
Interesting that despite cloning Twitter should be reasonably straightforward, there’s no Twitter alternative (or social network period, I suppose) that has all of these features. Of course, even Twitter itself pre-Musk stumbled on some of these.
Conclusion
Overall, Threads is definitely a flawed service. It has fewer features than Twitter; no web browser access; no chronological feed; and privacy issues aplenty. Non-”techie” and hardcore Instagram/Facebook users won’t mind using Meta's service, as the above aspects are already present in those apps. But as it stands, Threads’ only benefits over Twitter are A) ActivityPub support (albeit not activated yet), B) it’s not owned by Musk, and C) it’s friendly for celebrities, influencers, and commercial interests. I’ve seen a few online compare Threads to an interactive version of commercial television, which seems apt.
Unfortunately, I fear despite Threads’ multiple flaws, I can see it “winning” as the Twitter-replacement the general public goes with. It’s: easy to sign up for and use for the average person (unlike Mastodon); it’s actually available for use (unlike the invite-only Bluesky); and one’s family, friends, and favorite brands/celebrities are already there (unlike Mastodon, Bluesky, CoHost, Hive, etc.). Sigh.
That said, if or when Threads does turn on ActivityPub, it means one can use the Mastodon app or a similar ActivityPub-based app to access Threads. Said app would offer support for a chronological feed and other benefits. However, there’s no indication when Meta will turn on ActivityPub support. Also, various Mastodon servers have already vowed to pre-emptively block Threads, though it’s unclear if any ActivityPub apps will do so.
For now, I still have my Threads account, but until the lack of a chronological feed and web access are addressed, I likely won’t be using it much, if at all. I already don’t like using Instagram or Facebook, but I only have pages for those since I need at least one mainstream social network for the blog. I’m hoping Threads isn’t another case of “use it because you don’t have a choice.”
Finally, for those that want to follow me on Threads, my profile is here (screen name: @diversetechgeek).
Image by Gabriele Lässer from Pixabay