So Instagram just replaced Twitter with Threads
- Thread starter 85 East
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Interesting....
Had no idea snap chat was still a thing. Thought it was Tumblr status.
The Devil's Advocate
Call me Dad
Any platform that allows porn, nudity and open selling of sex work, will never go anywhere.
Chris Pirillo (@chrispirillo) on Threads
The answer to this problem, again, is federation. Threads can continue to optimize its platform AND connect with others in the fediverse. That doesn't mean you have to join Mastodon, either. It just means that you get the benefit of sharing news cross-platform from the platform of your choosing...
www.threads.net
Voice of Reason
Veteran
The CEO and Zuck are Joos they are not going to amplify news from Palestine
Instagram head says Threads' blocking of 'covid' and related terms is temporary, to lift in 'weeks or months' | TechCrunch
A week after Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the company's new Threads app will not "amplify news," saying it's too risky for the young X competitor, the
techcrunch.com
Instagram head says Threads’ blocking of ‘covid’ and related terms is temporary, to lift in ‘weeks or months’
Sarah Perez@sarahpereztc / 10:52 AM EDT•October 17, 2023Comment
Image Credits: Bloomberg / Gabby Jones (opens in a new window)/ Getty Images
A week after Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the company’s new Threads app will not “amplify news,” saying it’s too risky for the young X competitor, the exec is now saying that one of the app’s more serious issues around blocking news — a ban on health-related search terms like “covid” — is only temporary. First reported by The Washington Post, Threads today blocks a number of terms for user safety and to drive its early focus on developing a “positive, friendly” culture. This includes blocks on search terms like “gore,” “nude,” “sex” and “porn,” but also those tied to news around the COVID pandemic like “vaccines,” “vaccination,” “coronavirus,” “covid” and “long covid.”
Threads’ goal, explained Mosseri, was not to be “anti-news” as users could find and follow news accounts that share information. But it also won’t amplify news, saying it’s too risky “given the maturity of the platform.” But not allowing users to engage in discussions around COVID or read reporting on the topic has felt, to some, including The WaPo’s Taylor Lorenz, like a bridge too far. If Threads blocks people from searching for news reports about COVID and its aftermath, that means reduced visibility to news publications that report on the topic, and limited access to consumers of this sort of critical information.
In an exchange yesterday on Threads, Mosseri confirmed that such a block was only temporary, however, and the company was working on lifting it. He cited the current situation in Gaza as the more pressing focus right now in terms of managing content, and detailed other projects that Instagram has prioritized before unblocking COVID-related terms.
“We’re just getting pulled in a lot of directions at once right now,” Mosseri wrote on Threads. “The biggest safety focus right now is managing content responsibly given the war in Israel in Gaza. The broader team is working on deeper integrations into Instagram and Facebook, graph building, EU compliance, Fediverse support, trending, and generally making sure Threads continues to grow,” he added.
In a follow-up he said that the reality of the situation was that there’s “lots of important work to do” and Threads’ block on COVID would likely lift in a matter of weeks or months. In other words, Threads’ move to block the terms is not a permanent decision — it’s one where Threads prioritized other areas instead of trying to manage the potential risks around COVID misinformation spreading at a time when the network is still growing.
Still, it’s an extreme step to take to actually create a blocklist of terms that, when searched, provide no results, as it limits conversations, debate and news-sharing. It also means Threads won’t have the feel of a fast-moving news network, like X, where discussions happen in real time and almost nothing is off-limits.
That may be the point, though. As Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently explained in an interview, Threads didn’t want to become just another Twitter — an app he described as indexing “very strong on just being quite negative and critical.” Instead, he wanted Threads to be more accessible to a lot of people, and a “positive” place for discussions. Today, that means an early culture where it blocks adult topics and censors terms that could lead to more heated discussions.
However, these choices may be limiting Threads’ adoption by those looking to leave Twitter/X in some cases. Reports indicate that Threads’ usage dropped by half from its initial surge and now the company is looking for new ways to revive interest in the app, including by courting creators to post more often.
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Instagram head says Threads API is in the works | TechCrunch
Instagram head Adam Mosseri said today that a Threads API is in the works, paving a way possible for third-party experinces.
techcrunch.com
Instagram head says Threads API is in the works
Ivan Mehta@indianidle / 2:46 AM EDT•October 28, 2023Comment
Image Credits: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg / Getty Images
Instagram head Adam Mosseri said today that a Threads API is in the works. This will give chance to developers to create different apps and experiences around Threads.
Mosseri was responding to journalist Casey Newton, who was conversing with a user about a TweetDeck-like experience for Threads. The Instagram head expressed apprehension about publishers posting a bunch of content and in turn, overshadowing creator content.
“We’re working on it. My concern is that it’ll mean a lot more publisher content and not much more creator content, but it still seems like something we need to get done,” Mosseri said in a post.
Threads have taken a stance on news content by saying it is not “anti-news” but it “won’t actively amplify news.” Historically, news publications have relied on third-party tools and integrations with different social networks to automatically post on platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. With the lack of availability of APIs on newer platforms like Threads, publishers have to manually post content, which is not ideal for news organizations posting a bunch of articles per day.
While Mosseri is concerned about publishers pushing an overwhelming amount of content through API integration, creators also need different tools to post various formats of content. It makes it easier for developers to make features suited for a platform if there is an API integration.
With social networks such as Twitter (now X) and Reddit making it difficult for third-party developers to create clients, Threads can open up its API for a healthy app ecosystem. Developers have made some clients for rival networks such as Bluesky and Mastodon. However, both networks comparatively have a smaller user base than Threads.
Earlier this week, Meta said that Threads has just under 100 million monthly active users. An API and a third-party app ecosystem won’t necessarily push that number forward, but it will give ways for people to explore the network in alternative ways. The Threads teams have shipped many features in the last few months post-launch. However, if there is a third-party app ecosystem in place, developers can use various ship features users are looking for.
What’s more, Meta and Mosseri have talked about integrating Threads with the Fedisverse. So an open ecosystem with a well-maintained API would be a good step towards getting to that goal.
anyone I see listening a snap I assume sells ass
Meta given 30 days to cease using the name Threads by company that trademarked it 11 years ago
Threads Software Limited says its lawyers have informed Meta that it will seek an injunction from the courts if the Facebook parent keeps using the name Threads...
www.techspot.com
THREADS
Meta given 30 days to cease using the name Threads by company that trademarked it 11 years ago
"This is a classic David and Goliath battle"
By Rob Thubron October 30, 2023 at 10:16 AM
TechSpot is celebrating its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust.
What just happened? In what is another case of a tiny company suing an internet giant for allegedly using a trademarked name, a British software firm has told Meta it's got 30 days to stop using the term Threads for its latest social media platform in the UK as it owns the trademark.
Threads Software Limited says its lawyers have informed Meta that it will seek an injunction from the courts if the Facebook parent keeps using the name Threads after the 30-day deadline passes.
Threads is a cloud-based intelligent message hub that captures, transcribes, and organizes all of a company's digital messages, emails, and phone calls into one easily searchable database. It is provided by Threads Software Limited, and was conceived and trademarked in 2012 by JPY Ltd.
The Threads service has been actively promoted worldwide since 2014, and following the first commercial sale in the US in 2018, JPY Ltd spun off a new company, Threads Software Ltd. According to the press release, it has since licensed nearly 1,000 organizations worldwide with sales currently growing at 200% a year.
It appears that Meta was aware of Threads before launching its platform of the same name. Company lawyers made four offers to purchase the domain 'threads.app' from Threads Software Ltd from April 2023, all of which were declined. Meta announced Threads in July 2023, the same time that the British company says it was removed from Facebook.
"Taking on a US$150 billion company is not an easy decision for us to make. We have invested 10 years in our platform, establishing a recognized brand in the name, Threads. Our business now faces a serious threat from one of the largest technology companies in the world," said Dr John Yardley, Managing Director of Threads Software Ltd. "We recognize that this is a classic 'David and Goliath' battle with Meta. And whilst they may think they can use whatever name they want, that does not give them the right to use the Threads brand name."
Like X, which is being sued by a company that has the same name, Threads (or Thread) is one of those terms used by several organizations. These include the football platform Thread and a Slack-style platform called Threads from a San Francisco startup. In a less related area, there is also a harrowing 1984 British film called Threads about the aftermath of a nuclear war that traumatized many who saw it.
Meta's Threads enjoyed a lot of success in its post-launch period, attracting 100 million users in just five days. But it was revealed a few weeks later that user engagement had fallen 70% and the average time spent using Threads' Android and iOS apps slipped from 19 minutes a day to just four minutes. Despite the waning interest, new features and Instagram integration were added in August.
Meta has also faced copyright infringement claims since it rebranded from Facebook in 2021. The change led to a company called MetaX, launching a trademark lawsuit last year.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24774109/STK156_Instagram_threads_2.jpg)
Meta wants Threads to be the “de facto platform” for online public conversations
Threads already has nearly 100 million monthly active users.
www.theverge.com
Meta wants Threads to be the ‘de facto platform’ for online public conversations
/It’s a big goal, but things have been going well for Threads lately.
By Jay Peters, a news editor who writes about technology, video games, and virtual worlds. He’s submitted several accepted emoji proposals to the Unicode Consortium.Oct 27, 2023, 5:17 PM EDT|24 Comments / 24 New
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24774109/STK156_Instagram_threads_2.jpg "Illustration of the Threads app logo")
Illustration: The Verge
Instagram boss Adam Mosseri has high ambitions for Threads: he wants it to become the “de facto platform for public conversations online,” he said on Friday. Big statement to make on the one-year anniversary of Elon Musk taking over Twitter!
Meta’s aspirations came up as part of a question Mosseri answered in an AMA: “What do you think ‘success’ looks like for Threads in one year?”
“We’re actually debating this right now internally,” Mosseri said. “I do think the long-term aspiration is to be the de facto platform for public conversations online, which is about cultural relevance as much as it is about the overall size of Threads.”
Mosseri noted that Threads is “obviously” not the largest public conversation platform right now, saying that X, formerly Twitter, holds that title. He’s encouraged by Threads’ prospects, saying that “I think we have a chance of surpassing them,” even if X has “got a big head start and we’ve got a long way to go.” (Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced this week that Threads has “just under” 100 million monthly active users.)
Right now, Mosseri is trying to keep the Threads team “focused on improving the core experience every week.” I’d argue it’s doing a pretty good job keeping up that pace, recently adding things like polls and GIFs this week and a free edit feature you don’t have to pay for earlier this month. “Little by little, I think we can continue to build momentum and get there,” he said.
Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) on Threads
“What do you think ‘success’ looks like for threads in one year?”
www.threads.net
Mosseri responded to a few other questions about Threads during his AMA. He thinks that “some version of hashtags or tags” that make it easier to find things by topic might be useful, but they’re not an improvement that will “meaningfully change the trajectory of the app.” He said that while the company has work to do to improve the Threads web app, there’s “way more usage of Threads on iOS and on Android” than on web and that the web version is “not our primary focus.”
Mosseri is also looking for ways to better integrate the teams working on both Instagram and Threads. “Because of where I sit, I have an opportunity to actually look at all these different teams and what they’re doing and find opportunities to work together more closely,” he says. Maybe that’s why some people are starting to see Threads recommendations on Instagram (which Meta is “listening to feedback” about).
X has big ambitions, too; it just announced two new subscription tiers (including one that removes ads) and has aspirations to replace your bank. But we’ll have to wait and see if year two under Musk’s ownership is as messy as year one.
Is Threads winning the war with X?
<p>In July, Meta debuted Threads—a social networking app whose launch appeared motivated by the travails of X, the platform then still known as Twitter—by giving users of Instagram, Meta’s photo and video sharing platform, the ability to set up an account. The following week, my colleague Jon...
www.cjr.org
Is Threads winning the war with X?
NOVEMBER 9, 2023By MATHEW INGRAM
In July, Meta debuted Threads—a social networking app whose launch appeared motivated by the travails of X, the platform then still known as Twitter—by giving users of Instagram, Meta’s photo and video sharing platform, the ability to set up an account. The following week, my colleague Jon Allsop and I discussed whether Threads would be able to compete with X and how useful it might be for journalists. Four months on, Threads has arguably become a significant competitor for X, and has done so a lot faster than many people expected: the app hit thirty million sign-upswithin twenty-four hours of its launch; in a conference call on October 25, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s cofounder and CEO, said that it now hasalmost a hundred million monthly users,making it one of the fastest-growing apps in history, even beyond the initial sugar rush. And there are signs of growing usefulness for journalists, too—though that’s a more complicated story.
A year after Elon Musk formalized his takeover of X, that platform’s user metricsare down across the board. Musk said earlier this year that X has somewhere in the neighborhoodof five hundred and thirty million monthly users; if both companies’ figures are accurate, then Threads has managed to sign up almost a fifth as many monthly users as a competitor that has been around since 2007. The turmoil at X since Musk’s acquisition has doubtless helped push users toward Threads. But that’s not the only reason for the latter’s apparent success.
Last month, Casey Newton wrotein his Platformer newsletter that the conflict between Israel and Hamas also seems to have helped tip the scales in favor of Threads. For more than a decade, Newton noted, people flocked to X whenever a global crisis struck, attracted by its mix of first-person testimony, verified journalists sharing factual reporting, and a broad range of commentary on whatever was happening. But that platform no longer exists,Newton argued; X may still offer first-person accountings of the news, but Musk’s approach to verification makes it impossible to tell what is reliable and what is not, since the blue check that used to denote a verified account can now be purchased by any user. The desire for factual reporting and commentary about the Israel-Hamas conflict, Newton added, was the latest instance of what the commentator Ezra Klein has called a series of “exodus shocks” from X, driven by Musk alienating his own user base (or parts of it, anyway).
Although Threads has not published granular data on its growth in usership, Newton notes that he got an influx of new followers on the app after the Israel-Hamas war began. Last month, the Threads account of Reliable Sources, CNN’s media newsletter, posted asking journalists to tag themselves in the replies;more than two thousand accounts did so, including those belonging to staffers at Bloomberg, NPR, the Boston Globe, the Detroit Free Press, and other outlets. Andrew Kaczynski, a CNN reporter, noted in a post that it “feels like Threads is just getting better every day.” Although it lacked some of the same features as X when it launched, Threads has since added some similar functions, includinga Web browser version, a search function, anda feature allowing users to edit their posts. The app has yet to fulfill one of the key promises that Meta made at launch: that it would “federate” with other social networks, allowing users of other platforms, such as Mastodon, to see and interact with its content. But Adam Mosseri, the Meta executive in charge of Threads, said recently that hehopes that this and other features will be added in the next few months.
When I spoke with Allsop after the launch of Threads, I said that—while the app was still so new that it was hard to get a sense of what it represented or even how it worked—it seemed to be part Twitter and part Instagram: two types of functionality, I argued, that were “in conflict with each other in some pretty fundamental ways.” I quickly tried to replicate my X network on Threads, to the extent that that was possible, but in its early days, the latter app seemed to be populated primarily by brands andInstagram-style influencers whose accounts were presumably seeded into the network, or promoted by the algorithm, as a way of jump-starting the timeline for new users. These accounts didn’t interest me, so I spent very little time on Threads. But over the next few months, I noticed more journalists showing up there—and, in much thesame way as Newton, noticed a particular jump in both activity and followers after Hamas attacked Israel.
Prior to the Israel-Hamas conflict, the utility of Threads to journalists and news junkies was the subject of much debate—especially after Mosseri said, in a discussion with Alex Heath of The Verge, thatthe app would not “do anything to encourage” the sharing of news, on the grounds that the negativity and additional scrutiny that come with being a platform for hard news aren’t worth the “incremental engagement or revenue.”Threads, Mosseri said, could appeal to more than enough communities—sports, music, fashion, entertainment, and so on—without having to make everything about news. He later clarified that Threads was not going to down-rank news in its algorithm, but added that the app wouldn’t actively promote it either, the way Facebook once did. Mosseri said thatMeta had been “too quick to promise too much to the industry on Facebook in the early 2010s, and it would be a mistake to repeat that.”
Unsurprisingly, this irritated a number of journalists on Threads, and was likely counterproductive—as Newton put it, if you wantto create a network where the world’s most influential journalists gather to post and discuss their news, “all you have to do is say that news is not a priority for you.” In a similarly tongue-in-cheek comment, Yair Rosenberg, of The Atlantic, said that if Threads wanted toprovide a service to journalists, it should allow posts on the app to be embedded into stories on third-party sites, thus allowing reporters to “sit on their couch and write entire articles about a handful of posts as though they represent something significant.” In any case, despite Mosseri’s stated lack of interest in news—not to mention the lack of newsy X-style features on Threads, like a tab for trending topics—I found, as CNN’s Kaczynski did, that over time, Threads became a useful news source, and certainly more useful than the increasingly questionable news environment over on X.
This isn’t to say that Threads doesn’t still have its issues. In our initial discussion, Allsopraised another issue that many observers had mentioned early on, noting that he found it “somewhat astonishing” that many past critics of Meta and Zuckerberg had leaped into a new Meta product “without a second thought.” Writing last month, Jason Koebler of 404 Media, a news site formed by exiles from Motherboard,wrote that it was “weird to watch” some journalists who were aware of Facebook’s history adopt Threads just because Zuckerberg is “a little less awful” than Musk. Despite this, Koebler said that he would continue to use Threads because he is a “pragmatic person who wants to connect with readers wherever they are,” and also because his livelihood depends on doing so.
Taylor Lorenz, a journalist at the Washington Post who writes about online communities and networks, raised another potential issue with Threads: the app currently blocks posts and searches for terms such as “COVID” and “long COVID,” a limitation, Lorenz wrote, that cuts vulnerable people off from access to crucial information, prevents journalists and experts from holding the government and political leaders to account, and, ultimately, “endangers people’s lives.” Lorenzreported that a number of other terms—such as “sex,” “porn,” “coronavirus,” and “vaccines”—are also blocked. Threads responded in a statement that its search function doesn’t provide results for queries that might return “potentially sensitive content.” Last month, Mosserisaid on Threads that the blocking is temporary and that the company hopes to reverse it, but that it is getting “pulled in a lot of different directions at once right now.”
In our discussion, Allsop asked me what Threads—along with the decline of X and the possible splintering of audiences across multiple apps—might mean for journalism. I replied that it would likely make journalists’ jobs even harder than they have been in the past, forcing us to use multiple different platforms to reach everyone who used to be on Twitter or risk failing to connect with some portion of our audience and sources, with resulting declines in engagement and readership for our work. Such dynamics could, in turn, intensify theeconomic challenges already facing many journalists and news organizations.
It’s currently unclear if Threads will keep growing to the point where it can take over at least some of X’s pretensions to be a unified“global town square.” It’s unclear, too, whether that eventuality would be enough of a draw for journalists that we’re willing to overlook—or to continue to hold our nose at—Meta’s history with disinformation, privacy invasions, stoking ethnic violence, and other unpleasant events. Is it better to hand over our personal data and conversations with sources and audiences to a more friendly billionaire, or is that just a Faustian bargain? As Charlie Warzelnoted in The Atlantic back when Threads was founded, users of any of our major social networks have to realize that they are all “at the pleasure of internet boy-kings. These are not our spaces.”