7 ms·

Quite telling that I'd literally forgotten Thread existed, and I'm in the UK where it has already launched supposedly

vidarh 3y ago
Only reason I've recently been reminded is that they're now testing (partial, one-way) federation to Mastodon for some accounts...
baz00 3y ago
Has it really launched here? I had no idea. I don't think I've heard anyone even mention it I know.
- lexandstuff 3y ago
  It's currently the 3rd most popular app in the UK iPhone app store [1], so clearly some people have heard about it. [1] https://apps.apple.com/gb/charts/iphone https://apps.apple.com/gb/charts/iphone
barkerja 3y ago
I've been a pretty frequent user since launch. It's really taken off in the past month or so, with news and sports. The NBA has replaced a lot of its court-side Twitter/X branding with Threads. There's also a very strong growing tech and design presence.
- rglullis 3y ago
  I don't know how much is just wishful thinking, but if there is one thing that it would be very interesting to see is a world where major orgs end up using Threads as a stepping stone out of the walled gardens. I mean, why can't an organization like the NBA establish their own social media presence? Especially if they do end up federating out completely? Why do they need to keep relying on Facebook and playing the game according to Facebook rules, when they could just set up their own server and quickly get their audience in the Fediverse?
  - theonlybutlet 3y ago
    Why not just their own website.
    - rglullis 3y ago
      Do you mean "their own domain"?
      - theonlybutlet 3y ago
        I mean own website on their own domain.
    - whycome 3y ago
      In Canada they actually redirect their own website to a third party (sportingNews.com). It's bizarre.
  - netsharc 3y ago
    There's already an NBA App, I imagine they could set up their own social network, but I guess then the headache is, they'd have to manage a social network - which can be a bunch of monkeys at typewriters flinging the vilest things at each other, the topic might not even be basketball. I guess there's a market for shovels* there, a white label social media app/backend, customizable for organizations. Sure there's the fediverse, but companies would rather deal with someone they can call to fix things. *) if you're in a gold rush, don't be another goldminer, sell shovels instead.
    - barkerja 3y ago
      Then you have market fatigue for the user. After living in a world of Twitter where you can consume all the things you desire and discuss all those things in the same setting, very few people want to be jumping from app-to-app, website-to-website to talk to different groups of people about different topics. Twitter was (still is?) a true community center, digestible in a format that's quick and easy. That's the allure to the average user. There is also the discovery component. The Athletic (https://theathletic.com https://theathletic.com), which is an excellent source of news for all sports leagues, does have a pretty decent place for discussion, but its engagement pales in comparison to the likes of Twitter (and even Threads now).
- netsharc 3y ago
  As much as I don't want to see the Zuckerverse succeed, Meta has a "we're the lesser evil" position at the moment, at least their Not-CEO hasn't told advertisers to go fuck themselves. If I worked for Meta, I would make getting companies and celebrities into Threads a priority.
  - hehhehaha 3y ago
    wont someone think of the advertisers
    - FirmwareBurner 3y ago
      I'm always thinking about the advertisers. I'm thinking how to keep blocking them.
  - throw310822 3y ago
    > at least their Not-CEO hasn't told advertisers to go fuck themselves Since when we think of advertisers as a force for good? I always thought of them as the ones for whom the platforms are secretly working, while pretending they care for their users. I've been thinking about it in the last few days. Wasn't the idea that capitalists seek profit, and people and government care about the ethics and the politics and the law? Feels strange to be rooting for corporations to set the political standards for the public.
    - zzzeek 3y ago
      Sir, this is a Hacker News
    - cedilla 3y ago
      I think the discussion around Elon Musk and his outburst is a little bit more nuanced than choosing which side is the "force for good".
    - addicted 3y ago
      No, that’s not the idea of capitalism. Sure that’s what you’ve been sold by bad actors, but that’s definitely not how capitalists have been defined for most of history until very recently by some bad actors. At a bare minimum, capitalism requires capitalists to be ethical because if they’re not their customers will rebel. But comments like yours which explicitly try and excuse bad behavior because we should expect bad behavior tries to undermine the most basic capitalist tool to eliminate bad behavior. Heck, even Elon Musk’s entire original justification for buying Twitter was explicitly supposed to not be about profit.
- hn1986 3y ago
  So far so good! https://www.threads.net/@verge/post/C04TD45LTS1 https://www.threads.net/@verge/post/C04TD45LTS1
whywhywhywhy 3y ago
Was DOA for me when I found out I had to grow my audience from scratch there and the algo feed seemingly learnt nothing from my decade+ of IG use, yeah no thanks.
sgt 3y ago
I signed up today and I was disappointed to see that every thread in my "stream" had text followed by an image. I thought Thread was going to be text-only? This reminds me too much of Instagram.
addicted 3y ago
I returned to it because someone linked to it a few weeks ago. It seemed to be far more vibrant for the communities I follow and had even exceeded Twitter activity in a few. I think it seems to be settling in nicely. Since I started looking at it again they’ve added topics (name?) which should help traction a lot. Ultimately I will probably delete Threads as well because I’m increasingly worried about the downsides of such a public and yet instant mass social network (if nothing else on my own mental wellbeing) but it seems to be doing pretty well.
hn1986 3y ago
There's a couple predictions that say Threads will overtake Twitter in active users in the next year or two. Considering that Musk keeps spewing conspiracy theories, antisemitic content and engaging with neo-nazis.
hn1986 3y ago
100 million MAU. and nearly the top of the app charts

Only reason I've recently been reminded is that they're now testing (partial, one-way) federation to Mastodon for some accounts...

baz00 3y ago

Has it really launched here? I had no idea. I don't think I've heard anyone even mention it I know.

lexandstuff 3y ago
It's currently the 3rd most popular app in the UK iPhone app store [1], so clearly some people have heard about it. [1] https://apps.apple.com/gb/charts/iphone https://apps.apple.com/gb/charts/iphone

barkerja 3y ago

I've been a pretty frequent user since launch. It's really taken off in the past month or so, with news and sports. The NBA has replaced a lot of its court-side Twitter/X branding with Threads. There's also a very strong growing tech and design presence.

rglullis 3y ago
I don't know how much is just wishful thinking, but if there is one thing that it would be very interesting to see is a world where major orgs end up using Threads as a stepping stone out of the walled gardens. I mean, why can't an organization like the NBA establish their own social media presence? Especially if they do end up federating out completely? Why do they need to keep relying on Facebook and playing the game according to Facebook rules, when they could just set up their own server and quickly get their audience in the Fediverse?
- theonlybutlet 3y ago
  Why not just their own website.
  - rglullis 3y ago
    Do you mean "their own domain"?
    - theonlybutlet 3y ago
      I mean own website on their own domain.
  - whycome 3y ago
    In Canada they actually redirect their own website to a third party (sportingNews.com). It's bizarre.
- netsharc 3y ago
  There's already an NBA App, I imagine they could set up their own social network, but I guess then the headache is, they'd have to manage a social network - which can be a bunch of monkeys at typewriters flinging the vilest things at each other, the topic might not even be basketball. I guess there's a market for shovels* there, a white label social media app/backend, customizable for organizations. Sure there's the fediverse, but companies would rather deal with someone they can call to fix things. *) if you're in a gold rush, don't be another goldminer, sell shovels instead.
  - barkerja 3y ago
    Then you have market fatigue for the user. After living in a world of Twitter where you can consume all the things you desire and discuss all those things in the same setting, very few people want to be jumping from app-to-app, website-to-website to talk to different groups of people about different topics. Twitter was (still is?) a true community center, digestible in a format that's quick and easy. That's the allure to the average user. There is also the discovery component. The Athletic (https://theathletic.com https://theathletic.com), which is an excellent source of news for all sports leagues, does have a pretty decent place for discussion, but its engagement pales in comparison to the likes of Twitter (and even Threads now).
netsharc 3y ago
As much as I don't want to see the Zuckerverse succeed, Meta has a "we're the lesser evil" position at the moment, at least their Not-CEO hasn't told advertisers to go fuck themselves. If I worked for Meta, I would make getting companies and celebrities into Threads a priority.
- hehhehaha 3y ago
  wont someone think of the advertisers
  - FirmwareBurner 3y ago
    I'm always thinking about the advertisers. I'm thinking how to keep blocking them.
- throw310822 3y ago
  > at least their Not-CEO hasn't told advertisers to go fuck themselves Since when we think of advertisers as a force for good? I always thought of them as the ones for whom the platforms are secretly working, while pretending they care for their users. I've been thinking about it in the last few days. Wasn't the idea that capitalists seek profit, and people and government care about the ethics and the politics and the law? Feels strange to be rooting for corporations to set the political standards for the public.
  - zzzeek 3y ago
    Sir, this is a Hacker News
  - cedilla 3y ago
    I think the discussion around Elon Musk and his outburst is a little bit more nuanced than choosing which side is the "force for good".
  - addicted 3y ago
    No, that’s not the idea of capitalism. Sure that’s what you’ve been sold by bad actors, but that’s definitely not how capitalists have been defined for most of history until very recently by some bad actors. At a bare minimum, capitalism requires capitalists to be ethical because if they’re not their customers will rebel. But comments like yours which explicitly try and excuse bad behavior because we should expect bad behavior tries to undermine the most basic capitalist tool to eliminate bad behavior. Heck, even Elon Musk’s entire original justification for buying Twitter was explicitly supposed to not be about profit.
hn1986 3y ago
So far so good! https://www.threads.net/@verge/post/C04TD45LTS1 https://www.threads.net/@verge/post/C04TD45LTS1

whywhywhywhy 3y ago

Was DOA for me when I found out I had to grow my audience from scratch there and the algo feed seemingly learnt nothing from my decade+ of IG use, yeah no thanks.

sgt 3y ago

I signed up today and I was disappointed to see that every thread in my "stream" had text followed by an image. I thought Thread was going to be text-only? This reminds me too much of Instagram.

addicted 3y ago

I returned to it because someone linked to it a few weeks ago. It seemed to be far more vibrant for the communities I follow and had even exceeded Twitter activity in a few. I think it seems to be settling in nicely. Since I started looking at it again they’ve added topics (name?) which should help traction a lot. Ultimately I will probably delete Threads as well because I’m increasingly worried about the downsides of such a public and yet instant mass social network (if nothing else on my own mental wellbeing) but it seems to be doing pretty well.

hn1986 3y ago

There's a couple predictions that say Threads will overtake Twitter in active users in the next year or two. Considering that Musk keeps spewing conspiracy theories, antisemitic content and engaging with neo-nazis.

hn1986 3y ago

100 million MAU. and nearly the top of the app charts