59 votes

Threads is the perfect Twitter alternative, just not for you

19 comments

  1. introspect
    Link
    That was very well put and more or less aligns with my initial impression of Threads. From the birth of that platform a lot of the choices they've made are quite evident of their intent with...

    That was very well put and more or less aligns with my initial impression of Threads. From the birth of that platform a lot of the choices they've made are quite evident of their intent with Threads - mobile-only, where data collection gets intimate and personal, and a CVS-receipt-length list of things that they collect from you, which is at least twice as long as that of Twitter's on the iOS app store, if I recall correctly.

    Modern social media in general tends to be mind-numbing, time-wasting content feeds that pulls you in and wrings you dry. After years of trying out various Meta products (let's be real, most people are on Facebook or Instagram), I feel like what I like the best is more like where I went when I was a kid - Baidu Tieba, an old-school-ish Chinese forum that has separate "subs" and sorts all replies to threads chronologically. I'm very young (23), but Chinese tech seemed to always lag a few years behind (at least that's how it was in 2008).

    Since I can't go back there now due to real name verification requirements and the lack of a Chinese ID number, I'm stuck in a couple of places, namely 4chan and here. I don't really feel the urge to go seek out more places to go, especially not after I realized how much better I function after leaving Reddit. Used to have FOMO about this, but maybe I am not the party that's missing out anymore.

    52 votes
  2. [8]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. DefiantEmbassy
      Link Parent
      You can mute them out of existence, but it is a tiring exercise. (disclosure: link is to my article)

      Every time I open the app it’s just a barrage of celebrities, “influencers”, and corporate brand accounts posting “how do you do fellow kids”-type banter with each other. I don’t follow any of these accounts. The replies are all fire emojis.

      You can mute them out of existence, but it is a tiring exercise. (disclosure: link is to my article)

      1 vote
    2. [7]
      Comment removed by site admin
      Link Parent
      1. [4]
        PopeRigby
        Link Parent
        My anecdotal evidence of me being 21 and also not liking that sort of advertising tells me it might not be just older people who instinctively tune it out. Or maybe I've just been raised...

        My anecdotal evidence of me being 21 and also not liking that sort of advertising tells me it might not be just older people who instinctively tune it out. Or maybe I've just been raised differently. My dad is very paranoid when it comes to advertising and scams, so maybe that rubbed off on me.

        10 votes
        1. Plik
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          I suspect it's the poorly written Nigerian Prince scam kind of idea. Make the ads dumb, so only the people most susceptible will fall for them.

          I suspect it's the poorly written Nigerian Prince scam kind of idea. Make the ads dumb, so only the people most susceptible will fall for them.

          8 votes
        2. [2]
          snakesnakewhale
          Link Parent
          At the risk of sounding a bit spicy, you may also just be smarter than the target audience, too.

          At the risk of sounding a bit spicy, you may also just be smarter than the target audience, too.

          3 votes
          1. PopeRigby
            Link Parent
            I'm not sure if smarter is the right word, but thank you haha. I think my parents have probably just taught me to have better critical thinking skills then a lot of people. I think lack of...

            I'm not sure if smarter is the right word, but thank you haha. I think my parents have probably just taught me to have better critical thinking skills then a lot of people. I think lack of critical thinking skills is the root cause of a lot of problems in our society, or it at least makes a lot of them worse.

            3 votes
      2. edoceo
        Link Parent
        I'm old. For advertising to work on my I need a tiger yelling at me about sugar coated corn flakes. Why would I even look at your product when you don't have as mascot or a catch phrase.

        I'm old. For advertising to work on my I need a tiger yelling at me about sugar coated corn flakes. Why would I even look at your product when you don't have as mascot or a catch phrase.

        9 votes
      3. [2]
        Comment deleted by author
        Link Parent
        1. Akir
          Link Parent
          You're right, it's just because you're outside the target demographic. Remember Lexus (or whoever) used to have these commercials featuring people giving their cars as Christmas presents, complete...

          You're right, it's just because you're outside the target demographic.

          Remember Lexus (or whoever) used to have these commercials featuring people giving their cars as Christmas presents, complete with the big novelty bows on the roof? Everyone I knew mocked them; nobody gives a brand new luxury car as a Christmas present. That's something you save up for years and make a reasonable financial decision together to buy. They couldn't have possibly sold any cars with those ads.

          But they can, and they did. Otherwise they wouldn't have run that campaign so strongly and for so long. It looked flashy, superficial, and dishonest to us, but it didn't to their target audience.

          11 votes
  3. [2]
    Comment deleted by author
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    1. elcuello
      Link Parent
      I appreciated it so there’s that.

      I appreciated it so there’s that.

      6 votes
  4. [3]
    wycy
    Link
    Threads is bad. And its features are not as good as Twitter. However, Threads is not (currently) funneling money to right wing influencers, so I’ll be sticking with Threads until such time as...

    Threads is bad. And its features are not as good as Twitter. However, Threads is not (currently) funneling money to right wing influencers, so I’ll be sticking with Threads until such time as Twitter is sold to someone else.

    10 votes
    1. [2]
      damonreece
      Link Parent
      Give it six months.

      Give it six months.

      15 votes
      1. smoontjes
        Link Parent
        About funneling money or Twitter getting sold?

        About funneling money or Twitter getting sold?

        2 votes
  5. skiesofarcadia
    Link
    Made by Meta = I won't use it, no matter what. And frankly, given the reactions I've seen to it, I'm not sad about "missing out" on Threads at all.

    Made by Facebook Meta = I won't use it, no matter what.

    And frankly, given the reactions I've seen to it, I'm not sad about "missing out" on Threads at all.

    9 votes
  6. SuperNed
    Link
    Threads is a few tweaks away from destroying Twitter faster than Musk ever could. the question is, will they do what's needed: Chronological feeds. A twitter like service is about the NOW. No...

    Threads is a few tweaks away from destroying Twitter faster than Musk ever could. the question is, will they do what's needed: Chronological feeds. A twitter like service is about the NOW. No algorithm can handle NOW. Algorithms always slow things down and give you old things.

    I don't need yesterday's posts about the Women's World Cup. I need the most recent goal, the most recent news, the most recent memes.

    But yeah, Threads and Squabbles scratch the Twitter itch better than anyone so far. Bluesky and Spoutible try, but there's just something off.

    2 votes
  7. supported
    Link
    If you good trailblazing folks want to : sendie.com

    If you good trailblazing folks want to : sendie.com

    1 vote
  8. Tigress
    Link
    Honestly that doesn’t surprise me. It’s why it got easy to just start ignoring Facebook. I didn’t even try. Fb didn’t show me what I wanted to read (my friend’s posts) and it wouldn’t let me read...

    Honestly that doesn’t surprise me. It’s why it got easy to just start ignoring Facebook. I didn’t even try. Fb didn’t show me what I wanted to read (my friend’s posts) and it wouldn’t let me read the latest rather then many times reshowing me ones I already saw and hiding new stuff. I didn’t even try to leave Facebook, it just happened (I still have an account but I barely touch it).

    For some reason zuck wants to tell you what you want to see (and honestly in my experience the algorithm is wrong on what I want to see). Not surprised he brought that over to threads.

    1 vote
  9. wababa
    Link
    I’m thinking a lot of the missing features in Threads that makes it “worse” than Twitter are due to the fact the it was developed and launched really quickly. Obviously, I could be wrong and Meta...

    I’m thinking a lot of the missing features in Threads that makes it “worse” than Twitter are due to the fact the it was developed and launched really quickly. Obviously, I could be wrong and Meta could be doing things on purpose, but I think an opinion like the one in this article is premature.

  10. vanilliott
    Link
    No to Meta, No to Musk.

    No to Meta, No to Musk.

    3 votes
  11. AmeijinG
    Link
    I'm well aware it isn't for me. I noticed that the vibes were off from day one.

    I'm well aware it isn't for me. I noticed that the vibes were off from day one.

    2 votes