Is Threads A Viable Option For You?

 A Quick Overview of Threads by Instagram for the Curious, Weary, and Reluctant 

If you want to destroy my sweater, just pull this thread as I walk away. 

- Undone,Weezer

If you are like me, the search for an alternative to the mess ole’ Musky has created at twitter is hot and heavy. Politics and personality conflicts aside, the billionaire space cadet has managed to ostracize all but the most pie-eyed users. Whether it is destroying trust, imposing fatuous limits, or blocking tools like tweetdeck, and technical failings at every turn the frustrations have continued to mount. 

Threads, Now Open To All

Yesterday, Meta opened up Threads by Instagram to the masses (racking up 10 million subscribers in less that 48 hours), I am member # 368852 - (thank you very much).  If your curious or wary from trying alternatives like Mastadon or waiting for access to the Jack Dorsey backed BlueSky- getting going on to threads is really simple. 

Simple and Streamlined

If you already have an Instagram account, head over to the App Store and download ‘Threads, an Instagram app. Note that if you search for just ‘Threads’ you may get another social app,(the poor bastards), by the same name. ( the company has now added ‘not related to Meta’ disclaimer to their description). 

Once downloaded you can sign in with your insta credentials and off you go! The platform does ask if you want to automatically follow the same accounts you already do on instagram. In seconds you are brought to the main thread screen, free to scroll through it all. 

A Few Knots and Tangles

The ease of use does belie some issues percolating underneath it all.  There are a number  necessary features that must be implemented sooner than later for the platform to be viable and a true ‘Twitter Killer’. 

First, and most annoying for me, is that there is no way to have direct messages or filter who you see. Currently, you view one continuous stream of folks you follow and what the algorithm thinks you should see ( yes advertising cannot  be far behind). While it is possible to search for an account and have a threaded dialog there, it is a bit unruly (who remembers all of the account names you follow?)

While Threads allows 500 characters, you cannot edit after the fact (twitter allows this) and you cannot edit images in the app (again twitter allows this). 

Some Old Bugaboos 

This IS a Meta, née Facebook product, so many of the privacy concerns around your data and actions are the same here. It has to be said though, Zuckerberg has been active answering questions, hinting that more features will roll out shortly and promoting safe and healthy dialogs. 

In addition, Threads is inexorably tied to Insta, so if you want to delete a Threads profile, you must delete your Instagram account as well.  Thankfully it is possible to suspend a thread profile without interfering with insta. The settings page does provide a growing list of tools to manage, control, and track how your data is used. 

Ready to Take the Leap?

Is Threads for you? Right now the platform is a welcome relief with a familiar feel, if but limiting. I do not particularly like the scrolling (yes, this is identical to how your Instagram home page works) and I desperately want a ThreadDeck. 

If you are looking for a simple and streamlined app that will get you going and engaging in mere moments, the app is Certainly worth a go.

Questions? Happy to tell you what I know, or can find out from peeps with much deeper knowledge than me.