So Instagram just replaced Twitter with Threads

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White House joins Threads as X owner Elon Musk faces backlash over antisemitic embrace​

By Oliver Darcy, CNN

1 minute read

Updated 5:19 PM EST, Mon November 20, 2023

The White House in Washington, DC, in August 2021.

The White House in Washington, DC, in August 2021.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

CNN —

The White House on Monday joined the social media platform Threads, delivering a boost to Meta’s X competitor as Elon Musk faces backlash for endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.

The White House launched its own official account, as well as accounts for the president, first lady, vice president, and second gentleman.

Additionally, a spokesperson for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign told CNN that the president, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, would launch personal accounts on Threads as well.

The move, which the White House said had been in the process for several weeks, comes as Musk and X remain ensnared in controversy over hate speech roiling the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Musk himself explicitly endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy last week, prompting a stinging denunciation from the White House, a major advertiser exodus, and greater public outrage.

The White House’s decision to join Threads gives the Mark Zuckerberg-controlled platform, which Musk has repeatedly assailed, added credibility. It also comes as some key public figures declare that they are switching from X to Threads entirely, citing Musk’s conduct as the impetus for the move.
 
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www.threads.net

Flower Boy Femi🌸 (@femijaye) on Threads

It’s crazy how instagram slowly socially programmed there users to not want to post due to the low reach they were giving people. Less reach, meant less engagement, meant less people wanting to share there content, leading people not really wanting to engage with other peoples content due to...
www.threads.net www.threads.net


:heh:
 
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Voice of Reason said:
How is the sports news?
Click to expand...
Can’t really comment there, I’ve been mostly engaging with politics, art, sci-fi, and positivity posts.

I will say that your feed will be directly tied to what you engage with. Like and reply to a lot of travel posts? You’ll see a lot of travel posts. It’s also very adaptive…so if you cut back on engaging with travel posts…and start engaging with Thots/BBLs…you’ll see more of those…. :ehh:
 
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www.wsj.com

WSJ News Exclusive | Meta’s Threads to Launch in Europe in App’s Biggest Expansion Since Debut

The expansion is expected in December, a signal of the company’s commitment to the microblogging service.
www.wsj.com www.wsj.com

Meta’s Threads to Launch in Europe in App’s Biggest Expansion Since Debut​

Expansion is expected in December, a signal of company’s commitment to microblogging service​

By
Salvador Rodriguez
Sam Schechner
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and
Meghan Bobrowsky
Nov. 30, 2023 5:30 am ET


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Threads became available to most markets when it launched in July. PHOTO: JAAP ARRIENS/ZUMA PRESS

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Meta META -1.52%decrease; red down pointing triangle

Platforms plans to launch Threads in Europe in December, according to people familiar with the matter.

The launch represents Threads’ largest market expansion since its debut in July and signals the social-media company’s commitment to the microblogging service, which rivals that of Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter.

Upon its launch in July, Threads became available to most markets worldwide, but Meta withheld launching in the European Union because of its regulations for online services, which are among the toughest in the world.

To comply with those regulations, Meta will give EU users the choice of using Threads purely for consumption without a profile that allows them to make their own posts, one of the people said.

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, also recently said that all Threads users would now be able to delete their accounts on the service without also having to delete the Instagram accounts with which they are associated.

Social-media services are “under much more significant scrutiny than other parts of the world, so getting into that market shows that the company is willing to play the game,” said Daniel Newman of Futurum Group, an advisory business that focuses on digital technology.

Threads’ market expansion comes after numerous advertisers, including Apple, Disney and IBM, paused their ad spending on X after Musk made controversial comments from his account, including one in which he said an antisemitic post was “the actual truth.” Musk on Wednesday said anyone trying to “blackmail” him over advertising money could “go f—yourself.”

Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg in October said Threads had “just under 100 million monthly active” users, adding that he thinks it could reach as many as one billion users in a few years.


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Have you added the Threads app to your phone? Join the conversation below.

“He’s got lofty goals for it,” said Debra Aho Williamson, an independent tech analyst. “Bringing it to Europe is an important test of the viability of Threads long term.”

The inclusion of the EU could result in approximately 40 million additional monthly users for Threads in 2024, Williamson estimates, based on Meta’s reported EU user figures for Instagram and the percentage of Instagram users who have become active users on Threads in other markets. That expansion would be a significant boost for Threads’ user base, she said.

“Launching in Europe would certainly bring more people, creating more conversations and more usage,” Williamson said. “But Meta still needs to figure out what Threads is.”

While Threads has emerged as the clear-cut rival to X, the Meta app remains a distant runner-up. Threads has approximately 73 million monthly global users and X has 365 million, according to Sensor Tower, an analytics firm.

“To me, it feels a little bit like Meta’s VR strategy that they’re betting that the user will get there,” said Futurum’s Newman. “They just don’t seem to have a very tight timeline.”

Write to Salvador Rodriguez at salvador.rodriguez@wsj.com, Sam Schechner at Sam.Schechner@wsj.com and Meghan Bobrowsky at meghan.bobrowsky@wsj.com
 
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Instagram Threads search now supports ‘all languages’ in latest update​

Sarah Perez@sarahpereztc / 2:06 PM EST•November 30, 2023

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The Threads logo on a smartphone

Image Credits: Bloomberg / Gabby Jones (opens in a new window)/ Getty Images

Instagram’s Twitter/X rival, Threads, is becoming more competitive with the expansion of its keyword search feature to all markets where the app is available. The feature was initially tested in English-speaking markets including Australia and New Zealand in August before expanding to most other English and Spanish-speaking countries, including the U.S. in September. Now, according to Instagram head Adam Mosseri, keyword search will be “supported in all languages.”

That will make the app, now used by nearly 100 million people per month, more useful to a broader, global audience.

The news also comes on the heels of reports that Threads is nearing an E.U. launch. The Wall Street Journal suggested the app may launch the E.U. as soon as next month, noting that it may also launch a view-only mode that would allow users to read posts without creating an account.

Offering search capabilities to E.U. users would be a key aspect of serving that market, where many different languages are spoken. But it also would make Threads more useful to the over 100 countries where the app is now available, beyond the U.S.

threads-search.jpeg

Image Credits: Threads

The Threads team has been rapidly iterating on the app in response to user feedback, adding features like a chronological following feed, a web app, a way to view your likes, polls, GIFs, hashtag support (without the hash), an edit button, profile switching, and more in the months following its launch. The company has also promised a developer API and plans to integrate with ActivityPub, the decentralized social networking protocol that also powers Mastodon and other networks.

However, Threads has not yet adopted one central feature that drives X: Trending Topics, though it has been spotted in development. In fact, the company seems to want to be a less real-time version of X, as its algorithmic feed often features days-old posts. Mosseri has also directly stated that the company doesn’t aim to amplify news on the platform, differentiating the app from X’s focus on breaking news. That said, many former X users are joining Threads which ultimately may dictate the app’s direction.

In today’s note, Mosseri said that more improvements to search would also be coming soon.

For now, Threads continues blocking terms like “long covid” and related phrases in search, pointing users to the CDC’s website instead for current information.

With nearly 100 million monthly users, Threads is still smaller than X, which has nearly 550 million monthly active users as of September, per X owner Elon Musk. But it’s also not yet available in all the markets that X supports, which limits its growth. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains bullish on the app’s potential, recently telling investors that Threads could be Meta’s next billion-person app in a matter of years.
 
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