I used to love Twitter, I mean I really loved Twitter. it was my favorite social media platform and still is to this day I am still sad to see what happened to it and I miss the communications that I used to have.
I met some amazing IRL friends there and I even wrote a whole darned book about it!
There’s something I am really excited about – it launched overnight and it took us all off guard. It’s called Threads and its just what I LOVE – quick text – no images of videos or makeup or ring light! No filters to agonize over and so far I actually see some of my friends – My IRL and past Twitter and social media connections there! So DIVE in while the pool is still clear and crisp.
And YES it may likely regress into something awful and YES it is owned by Instagram which means its owned by ZUCK but at least it’s not owned by something in China… so there’s that.
We put together this handy guide for you to get you up and running on Threads!
“On the one hand, Threads has a decent chance of becoming a — maybe even the — major new hub for text-based online conversations. Unlike other would-be Twitter rivals Bluesky and Mastodon, Threads arrives with a potential audience of billions who already use Meta’s photo and video-oriented Instagram, which Threads is built on top of. Meta says it’s taking moderation seriously to make Threads a safer place for us (and eventually advertisers). Zuckerberg, too, is less inclined than Musk to put his foot in his mouth.” – THE WASHIONGTON POST
What is Instagram Threads?
Instagram Threads is Meta’s new way of communicating through text over images and videos. It is designed for sharing text updates and joining public conversations.
You log in using your current Instagram account, or the one you’d prefer to use, and posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length. A Thread post supports up to 10 media items.
Your feed on Threads includes threads posted by people you follow, and recommended content from new creators you haven’t discovered yet.
Threads vs. Twitter
Threads has been described by the head of Instagram as the “sanely run” Twitter (according to The Verge). It is, in fact, a direct competitor to Twitter and they are not hiding it.
While there are many similarities between the two, there are still some key differences.
New App Download
The biggest difference is the location of the two. Threads is a whole new app that you need to download and integrate into Instagram in order to emulate what Twitter already has built into it’s system.
The app is also not currently available in the EU.
No “Following” Timeline
Thread’s main feed shows posts from accounts you follow ALONG WITH accounts recommended by Instagram’s algorithm. You can repost something with your own commentary, and replies are featured prominently in the main feed. However, there is no feed of only people you follow. This could be added later, as this is still brand new.
No Deleting Threads Once Integrated
As of right now, you can’t delete your Threads account without deleting your Instagram account. You can deactivate it, but that’s about it.
No Ability to Search Posts
Unlike Instagram, there is no “discover” page. Right now, the search function in Threads only lets you find user accounts and not content, hashtags, sounds, videos, etc.
This is a feature that Instagram intends to role out in time as they continue to make updates to the app.
You Can Tune Out the Noise with Threads
Like with Instagram, you can add hidden words to filter out replies to your threads that contain specific words. You can unfollow, block, restrict or report a profile on Threads by tapping the three-dot menu, and any accounts you’ve blocked on Instagram will automatically be blocked on Threads.
Features Currently Missing From Threads
- A “Following” feed
- Support for GIFs
- Full web version support
- Editing posts
- Inline translation
- Support for user-generated Alt image text
- Hashtags
- A way to see your own liked posts
It should be noted that these are all things that Instagram and Meta are working to get going.
Final Thoughts?
Give it a go! It is in the beta stages at the moment, so there will of course be bugs and features that you won’t continue to use perhaps in the coming weeks or even months. We do think that it’s something you should do! It’s a more personal way to interact with fans and find new fans through short conversational text.
Need help coming up with content ideas for Threads? Use our 100+ ChatGPT Prompts for Social Media to help you get started!
