Threads is the fastest-growing social media platform of all time, reaching 100 million users in just five days. The platform was launched by Meta to compete with Twitter after Twitter was purchased by Elon Musk and had a precipitous decline in users and quality. While it ties directly into Instagram and is built on the same technology, Threads is intended to be a town square for the internet. But can a town square thrive when it’s filled suddenly with millions of voices and moderated in the same way that made Instagram a place that was friendly for brands and few others?
Meta is testing a new feature that lets you add specific topics to a dedicated “Interests” section on your Threads profile, as spotted by @faslu_35. The company confirmed the test to TechCrunch.
My colleague Chris Welch spotted that the tab had been pinned to the top of his home screen in the iOS app, beckoning him to stick with Threads for the latest news on the awards show, which is starting in less than an hour at 7PM ET.
I don’t have it, but it’s not unusual for Threads to test the waters before rolling features out to everyone.
Tapping on the new feature gives you a dedicated feed of all the images and videos posted by the account you’re viewing — including your own. Instagram head Adam Mosseri says the Threads media tab has rolled out globally, alongside the ability to tag people in the photos you share, and a “markup” feature that allows users to highlight or draw on quoted posts.
After sharing some screenshots of the feature earlier this month, Alessandro Paluzzi shared a couple more of the feature today.
If you want to join the Community Notes waitlist, you can do that here.
404 Media has updates from unnamed employees on how the moderation changes have been received:
“The entire thread of comments shared is dissent toward the new policy, save for one leader repeating Zuckerberg talking points. I’d call the mood shock and disbelief,” they added. “It’s embarrassment and shame that feels self-inflicted, different than mistakes the company has made in the past.”
Oh, and as for Joel Kaplan’s More Speech and Fewer Mistakes, Meta is already answering an “error” that blanked out search results for “LGBT” and “Trans.”
We didn’t all flock to a new platform or build on a thrilling new protocol. We went everywhere, and did everything, all at once.
Just seeing a Threads post on Instagram doesn’t count toward Threads’ more than 100 million daily active users, Zuckerberg tells Hank Green. “You’d have to tap on the post and open Threads while logged in to be counted for DAU,” Zuckerberg says.
“Now that your posts will be shown to more people who follow you, it’s especially important to understand what’s resonating with your existing audience,” Instagram boss Adam Mosseri says.
An update to the Threads app lets users switch between their various feeds on the home screen, similar to what Bluesky allows.
Over the last few weeks, Threads has rolled out a string of updates that crib from Bluesky, including adding custom feeds.
Meta seemed to have bought the domain earlier this year, sometime after it bought the company that owned it prior to the debut of threads.net, where Meta’s Twitter competitor lives.
Previously, visiting the threads.com URL didn’t show anything, but today, it shows... well, an error message. With a “Meta © 2024” and a Facebook logo.
Saw this news on 9to5Mac. I honestly didn’t know landscape video wasn’t previously possible.
This seems very useful!
