Threads - c/d

Not the movie.

https://i.ibb.co/DVtgVfn/IMG-1903.png

The horrible algorithm of Instagram and the scam ads every other post but none of the pictures of puppies and buildings that make it slightly palatable? Sign me up!

So, micro-bloging, then.

Broken micro-bloging at that, but it was going fast until then.

Musk vs. Zuck
Who will prevail??

No one prevails here

the website, threads.net, is only a link to download the app.

which, uh... nah

https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/05/threads-no-eu-launch/

oh nevermind pic.twitter.com/1wxq761Azi

— uǝʌǝʇs (@emoswaggy) July 6, 2023

Just passed 2 million signups and the tl is total carnage

the website, threads.net, is only a link to download the app.

I saw that and thought "Hahah no" and that was that.

#onethreads

Can't wait for Jeff Bezos' social media app, COME AND SEE.

— Bill Chambers (@flmfrkcentral) July 6, 2023

On one hand, I hope it’s popular so I can buy a house. On the other hand, lol please don’t use this garbage.

You were Zuck all along!

Pfft and now there's a MetaVerified thing...

...AT $15 A MONTH.

seems bad

I deactivated my threads account already but it turns out you can’t delete your threads account *without also deleting your Instagram account* so maybe just don’t sign up!

— emily hughes ✨ (@emilyhughes) July 6, 2023

tbh deactivation is good enough for me. I made zero posts and meta already has my fb and ig information anyway.

I'm like imagining a social media nuclear war of sorts where more and more dumb rich CEOs keep destroying all the other social media sites until 2035, when FB once again looks like it did in 2007, and all you can do is poke people and write one-sentence statuses.

then KEvin Costner shows up

Man I hope this fails

dud

oh nevermind pic.twitter.com/1wxq761Azi

— uǝʌǝʇs (@emoswaggy) July 6, 2023

absolutely shocked that this gingerbread house has a witch living in it

pic.twitter.com/kdnQJgWmxG

— HappyToast★ (@IamHappyToast) July 6, 2023

Read that if you have a pseudonymous account that Threads will link your real life name from Meta to the Threads account and you can’t change or unlink…No thanks.

lol, people are like "they've already got my data anyway" but what if they've come up with new and worse ways to fuck with your data?

Which they have!

My first impression was “wow, what a mess”. But as far as I can tell, new stuff from people you follow appears at the top of your timeline, followed by all the chaotic algorithmic stuff - so if you find yourself wading through randoms, that means you're "all caught up", as they say.

Anyhow, I’m on there as @troubleddiva. Yeah, massive data scraping doubtless going on, but I’m long past caring about that.

xpost

That sorting sounds exactly like my Twitter ‘for you’ feed, except that on Twitter the random algorithmic sorting is mostly just the same handful of terminally online clout chasers mixed with various blue checks for a while then it just reloads the exact same tweets I already saw from accounts I follow.

Threads though seems destined to appeal solely to folks who are already active on both Insta and Twitter, seems insignificant but maybe I’m out of the loop.

Even the name seems like a commitment to failure, like it’s intentionally resistant to being a tending topic because it’s so generic.

When BlueSky was trending my Twitter feed was full of big names mentioning it. Granted the Twitter feed is wide open to manipulation but I don’t see any actual promotion of Threads at all there by big names, all I see is internet dorks picking apart whatever putative value it may have had.

Can I be the first internet dork to call this as Meta’s Google Plus moment?

It's both better (more useful) and worse (more data kleptomania) than G+.

I like Insta, but my search feed is full of attractive young dimwits who I'm too weak to stop watching, and I feel like all the "extras" in your Threads feed will be along those lines. It doesn't remind me of G+, more like logging into a random area chat room in 1997.

I didn’t mean the functionality is like Google Plus just that this is a weak initiation of their competitors which is doomed from the launch.

I’m genuinely curious how you think this is useful for anyone other than the narrow intersection of active users of both Twitter and Instagram?

I guess I mean, if it develops an audience, Threads will be a functional, usable app with a specific use (i.e. it's Twitter without Elon Musk)

Whereas G+ did not appear to have a conceivable use at any point

Also that "narrow intersection" is (for better or worse) probably a large number of people

(Personally I hope it flops)

threads seems like it’ll be less like old twitter and more like old facebook, when the emphasis was more on friends’ status updates than “pages” or whatever

anyway, not planning on using it til i am absolutely forced to

I’d prefer Twitter without either Nazi Elmo or the guy who oversaw fucking Breitbart being platformed as a trusted news source on Facebook but again I’m likely an outlier with these concerns.

The main complaint I see about Instagram is the horrible algorithm. Aside from being a gaggle of big egos, Twitter is mainly just an algorithm. I’d argue text-based social media is even more dependent on the algorithm than visual social media is because visual media is so easy to judge instantly (the so-called “Reddit effect”) whereas text-based media is more dependent on recommendation from trusted sources. Just not seeing the appeal of Threads at all with a crap algorithm and a lack of popular personality magnets to recommend it.

My “narrow intersection” take is entirely relative but it’s based on the very limited number of accounts I follow who are actually active on both platforms. What is Instagram any more even? Mostly just spam accounts and promotional DJ etc videos that I see. Actual creator/influencers seem to have mostly migrated to TikTok, and that level of commitment to sheer engagement is out of reach of basically everyone else at this point.

It is entirely possible that Elmo spirals further out of control and effectively breaks any remaining functionality of Twitter, leaving Threads as the best alternative standing though.

(xpost)

I’d prefer Twitter without either Nazi Elmo or the guy who oversaw fucking Breitbart being platformed as a trusted news source on Facebook but again I’m likely an outlier with these concerns.

It is entirely possible that Elmo spirals further out of control and effectively breaks any remaining functionality of Twitter, leaving Threads as the best alternative standing though.

― recovering internet addict/shitposter (viborg), Thursday, 6 July 2023 bookmarkflaglink

You forgot ilx

I think you can somewhat clamp down on what shows up in your feed by going to settings > notifications > threads and replies, and then changing the settings there. I suspect this will work a bit better when more people are posting, but it's pretty much useless at the moment.

no that only controls notifications, but they've said a friends-only feed is coming

Put an account on there just to share episodes when I release them (and claim the name in case someone else takes it) but already not enjoying how the feed is 25% randos saying "Threads is great, much better than Twitter!" and 25% chummy brand accounts.

anything has to be better than joyless twitter, which i've quit, I'm giving it a try tonight. 10 mil users already?

xpost I think it's that way until you follow enough people

It is pretty funny how much they ripped off Twitter. They even have blue checks.

10 mil users already?

What’s a good test case post to see what proportion of those are the same toxic bots spreading disinformation as on Instagram? Checking for posts from France 24 or whoever is the big tankie magnet right now.

Truth Social is still out there, folks

I can't handle the truth.

lol owned but this is going to get exhausting

https://www.threads.net/t/CudyL-JOzl4/

Well, i’ve already been suspended from Threads. Odd since i haven’t posted anything there.

You shameless criminal

xp Oh wow, opens in a browser! how bout that

Already reinstated. Guess I must have smelled like a bot.

Musk is the best PR team Zuck could have hoped for. He is actually making him seem likeable.

Otm. It’s really stupid for Zuck to say he wants to softly firewall political discussion and keep it on Twitter when politics is absolutely Musk’s Achilles heel. And yet I still find myself frequently asking myself why I’m still on Twitter and not ANY other alternative.

With that, have some Twitter content:

I'm starting the slow march off of Twitter, and this is why. @PatriotYouth1 is in no way a "parody" account. It's a real-deal white nationalist account, promoting violent "active clubs" and racial hatred.

I can report this all day long, and expect nothing to happen to it. https://t.co/c8iDWeAFvq

— George Chidi (find me on Notes) (@neonflag) July 10, 2023

Not really sure what Zuck means about politics, except perhaps that they will ban people and not worry about the blowback.

Hopefully the discussion on Threads will be better than FB, where it was along the line of:

"We had to take out Saddam because he did 9/11."

"No, he didn't."

"You are entitled to your opinions and I'm entitled to mine. It is why America is a great country."

Eh more like “RFK Jr surge blowing through New Hampshire primary! Democracy is alive and well” (brought up to you by the Portsmouth Moms For Liberty action committee, formerly a division of Internet Research Agency, Olgino, Lakhta-Olgino Municipal Okrug)

But unironically it’s pretty clear that Meta has MUCH more reliable systems of content moderation in place than the MuskMobile fail train. Musk is actively courting disinformation providers ffs.

One big difference I've noticed: nobody on Threads seems to be talking about the mysterious BBC presenter scandal, while half of Twitter seems to be chucking random names around.

In threads ppl more concerned about consequences of nuclear war can I get an eyo

10 jokes only Gen X understands!

it’s wild that there is no search on Threads?? v strange decision

I don't think it's a decision - they've just rushed this out and haven't got search rest yet. Someone from Meta on Threads (Adam Mosseri? Can't search to check, lol) answered a question about hashtags support and was told they were focusing on free text search first as hashtags presented their own problems.

Rest = done

I think the lack of search kind of explains why there's no hot debate about the BBC presenter. To have that kind of conversation, especially where networks of followers are inchoate, requires search to get that critical mass of gossip going.

it's getting serious

Twitter owner Elon Musk has suggested he and Mark Zuckerberg should have “a literal dick-measuring contest” in the latest broadside aimed at his rival billionaire.

Using a slang word for “cuckold”, popular in rightwing circles as a term of derision, he also wrote: “Zuck is a cuck.”

Using a slang word for “copulation”, popular in most circles as a term of derision, he also wrote: “Mark Fuckerberg.”

Zuck responds: "I like the color orange."

This would make a great buddy comedy. Two billionaire with nothing in common, except for owning huge social media platforms.

it seems very much like musk was using this weekend.

In threads ppl more concerned about consequences of nuclear war can I get an eyo

Lmaoooooo I’ve been trying to form a joke about this for a week

Should I go here? https://t.co/AmhjCtNhQt pic.twitter.com/vJpZkOFPRL

— Gary Shteyngart (@Shteyngart) July 7, 2023

I hate that it is called Threads, now I'm reminded daily of nuclear war Sheffield

was told they were focusing on free text search first as hashtags presented their own problems

funny because hashtags were originally a completely manual thing people used to make tweets searchable via free text search

just make the text search work and let people do as they will... which is probably something even more broken

Yeah but spammers took over hashtags

spammers took over everything eventually

Agree with the thrust of this. Threads lacks a soul

https://open.substack.com/pub/ez/p/threadbare

Threads is the social media equivalent of QVC

jeggings & pizza stones

Peggings and jizza stones

“jizza stones” is way more up Bluesky’s alley

GZA stones

Threads has improved considerably over the past several days, it's feeling a lot like a large and welcoming community. I'm actually enjoying reading things in the for you tab and connecting with new people. I wouldn't say it's a Twitter replacement, it still could do better with things like news and current events, but the algorithm is very good at putting people with shared interests in front of you and not a bunch of random assholes.

Silicon Valley is so weird

https://i.imgur.com/65uxvDp.jpg

look both ways before crossing the street

Threads has been pretty good for connecting with other musicians and artists, but it also shows just how many are caught on the content treadmill. I know there's a formula to be successful and make a living off your stuff, but it's all extremely antithetical to being artistic.

I took another glance at it and my list seemed to be mostly musicians doing the "well I guess I might as well repost the same promo I'm posting to twitter/ig/bluesky here as well".

Instagram's attempt to entice me to use Threads today was to show me Charlotte Clymer quote-threading Seth Abramson about how hard they work as political posters.

yeah the promoted threads posts on instagram are insanely grim

that mosseri post is very "imagine the meeting(s)"

Yeah these highlighted recommendations where they're trying to get me to join threads, it's just the worst stuff. And I mean I just don't get what the algorithm is doing. Transphobia, anti-semitism, anti-palestian, homophobic, and of course the usual try-hard edgy dead-souled twitter types gesturing at nothing. I mean okay I know what the algorithm is doing, thirsting for clicks and traffic above all else, morality isn't even part of the equation.

Makes me realize once again I should probably just delete all of my social media at some point (it's only FB and IG now) though I guess that would result in me cutting off the lines of communication with a huge number of people. But I guess if they really care they'd figure out a way to find me.

I've found threads works quite well if you aggressively engage with things that interest you and block things that don't.

bluesky is good imo

I've jumped in there a couple times but I haven't clicked with it. Probably not following the right people.

The movie that this thread is not about is streaming on Criterion right now, I believe.