Another day, another Twitter drama. As you know, I’ve eaten my bodyweight in popcorn watching the twists and turns of this season of Twitter.com – even the Succession writers couldn’t top this!
Anyway, the latest out of Twitter HQ is that Lord Elon has drastically limited the ability of users to view tweets – limits are currently 2400 tweets for unverified users (up from 500 after significant user backlash). He’s also blocked “unregistered” users from viewing tweets, stymying off-site linking and effectively preventing search engines from indexing Twitter.
Basically all of this means that it’s way harder (and less rewarding) to drive eyeballs and clout via Twitter – and that also if you’re in the habit of linking to Tweets in your content, maybe take screengrabs instead. Elon has also paywalled 3rd-party platform TweetDeck, which is a blow for businesses who run their social through the popular site. (And a good reminder to make sure you’re always driving traffic to your newsletter sign-up page!)
Obviously, given the uncertainty of all of these changes, tons of Twitter users are jumping ship to alternatives such as Spoutible and BlueSky. But the other big players in social aren’t going to miss an opportunity to capture some more of the market.
Enter Meta Threads. No, it’s not a weird name for a fast fashion shop. It’s Instagram’s answer to Twitter, and went live on July 5th. I’ve done some preliminary exploring, and the functionality of Threads looks pretty similar to Twitter, with the ability to post, repost (=retweet), reply to and share conversations. You can also add media and–wait for it–OUTBOUND LINKS!! One slight difference seems to be the “home” page, which mimics the IG Explore page in a text-based kinda way, and pulls in posts from “recommended accounts” you may not follow.
Unlike the new arrivals to the Twitter competitor field, Threads has the bonus of already having a huge userbase. (There were 10 million sign-ups within the first few hours of launch.) You’re able to auto-follow everyone you already follow on Instagram, so building your follower base is a cinch – and engagement is poppin’ right out of the gate. And no, there won’t be view limits or pay-to-play access (although know that Threads isn’t shy when it comes to permissions – it tracks your location data, purchases, browsing history and probably way more.)
Although your follower bases will potentially overlap, Threads is a separate app from IG. It’s currently available free online and on the App Store and Google Play Story in the US and UK (European release TBC). Signing up is easy. Open your IG app, then tap the “Threads” icon that appears at the top of your feed. This will take you to the App Store page, where you can download Threads. Threads will pull your IG credentials into the app, so it’ll auto log-in with your current username and password. Easy!
What do you think? Will you be using Threads? I will be! Find me on the app at @ohsnapkarlyn!