In-Thread-ible?

Or is Instagram's new app hanging by a thread?

Jul 10, 2023

Yes, today’s newsletter is going to be all about Instagram’s new app, Threads. 🪡 But before we dig in, here’s a fun fact: Instagram once had a standalone messaging app called Threads that it shut down at the end of 2021. I guess they really liked that name. 🤷‍♀️

In today’s newsletter:

📱 New Instagram App: In-Thread-ible? Or is Threads Hanging by a Thread?
📕 Threads Dictionary
🤣 Sew Funny: Some of the Best Brand Posts

In-Thread-ible? Or Hanging by a Thread?

We had been warned for months that Meta was coming out with a so-called “Twitter killer” of an app. We didn’t know the name. And we didn’t know exactly when it would get here, but last Thursday, all of our questions were answered.

Threads, a new Instagram app, had 70 million sign ups just within the first few days of its launch. And it looks poised to hit 100 million sign ups soon (which isn’t surprising given that it’s the No. 1 most downloaded app in Canada and the U.S.).

But despite this early success, there are some key issues that Meta and Instagram will need to address, and quickly.

WYNTK

Instagram describes Threads as “A new way to share with text.” And yes, it does look a lot like the Twitter feed.

You can post text, photos and videos of up to five minutes
The maximum text post length is 500 characters

BUT

It does not support hashtags
It does not allow for alt text on images
Search is really just for finding other accounts (ie. no Trending Topics)
There is no easy way to see content from just your followers
There is no desktop version
The feed is not chronological

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri is promising to launch new features soon. Stay tuned…

While everyone is calling it a “new” app, I think of it as more of an Instagram extension. You can’t actually use it unless you have an Instagram account. And you can’t delete it unless you also delete your Instagram account (although, you can deactivate Threads). But this also means it takes seconds to set up because it basically ports over your Instagram handle, bio and followers for you (if you so choose). And this linkage is one of the reasons that Threads hasn’t launched in the European Union yet.

Image from Instagram with a variety of screenshots of its new app, Threads — Source: Instagram

How It Started (Ah, the good old days)

Like many of us, I just happened to be on my phone on Thursday night when I got an alert that the app was available for download. And that first night, the hours just flew by. It was like all of my favourite people from Instagram, Twitter and TikTok had all arrived at this fun new destination, and we were all just trying to figure it out together.

There was lots of conversation and excitement. People were discussing what to call posts and sharing what they’d learned about how the app worked. Others were re-sharing fun memes and joking about not sleeping that night. There were a ton of dog and cat pics (can’t leave them out!). And every time a new user joined, we all rushed to welcome them with a 👋.

But probably the funniest thing was how protective people were about not getting all business-y on the app. The best example of this is the thread of replies to digital marketing expert Jenna Kutcher. Read the full Thread.

How It’s Going

Let’s be honest, it’s still very early days. And we all need to give this app a chance. But there are a few issues (other than the lack of alt text, etc.).

Lack of quantity and variety: Despite the millions of sign ups, I’m personally only seeing content from just a handful of people. So either there are a lot of Threads “lurkers” who aren’t posting, or the algorithm is just pushing me to the most popular posts. But if you want people to invest a lot of time on an app, you need A LOT of content, and A LOT of different types of content.

Built-in fan base: The fact that all of us were able to port over our followers means people with a lot of fans instantly built an audience on the app. And while that sounds great, it’s actually not. Most of the time when you join a new app, you have to experiment to figure out what your audience wants from you. But if you already have this fan base that loves you, they’ll like everything you post. So, it’s hard to know if what you’re providing is actually good or not.

Duplication: A lot of people have also pointed out that some brand accounts (like Netflix) are resharing posts from Twitter and not treating this as a unique platform. It does make it a little bit less exciting, but I’m not so concerned about this. What I find annoying is when different accounts share the exact same jokes, so there is a bit of plagiarism going on.

News: Meta is actively blocking news in countries like Canada in protest of legislation that would make them pay publishers for links. And Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has already said there will be no attempt to encourage hard news on the app. So that means Threads will never really become a source of information.

***It also means that most of the content creation will fall on the shoulders of users and content creators, most of whom are not getting paid.

Threads post from Adam Mosseri about the goal of Threads

The Biggest Winner

The most shocking part of Threads, in my opinion, is how it has singlehandedly turned Meta leader Mark Zuckerberg from a meme and fodder of jokes into some kind of social media champion.

Threaders love it when he takes on Elon Musk, like he did recently with this response to a Threads post about how the app is censored from Twitter’s Trending list. “Concerning 😂” Zuck replied.

At the heart of this is the fact that so many of us still miss the old Twitter — the pre-Elon Musk Twitter where you could get breaking news, connect with new and old friends, learn things, and have a laugh. Sure, it could be toxic and problematic, but it was unique, and easy to share and find information. You also knew who the influencers were (instead of those just paying for checkmarks). And people had built up a lot of relationships there over the years.

Because, how else could you explain — after years of us all hating on Meta — how Threads made us all forget about Facebook’s privacy & misinformation issues and Instagram’s ability to kill teens’ self-worth. I think CNN report Donie O’Sullivan said it best with this post.