Tag Archives: Threads

Threads Confirms It Is Experimenting With Ephemeral Posts

Threads

Automatically disappearing posts on social networks could be handy for users who have a habit of deleting their posts through third-party tools, or if the context of those posts is short-lived. Earlier this month, Threads said it was testing ephemeral posts only as an internal prototype.

Now, the company told TechCrunch that it was testing posts that disappear after 24 hours with a limited number of users.

While the company didn’t provide any statement, a spokesperson said this is a new and casual way to share on Threads. It also didn’t disclose if the experiment is region-specific or who could activate such posts.

According to TechCrunch, app reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi published an ephemeral post on Friday. When you tap on the reply button, you can see the time remaining, after which the post will be deleted. Threads also shows a banner on top of the post indicating that the thread and all replies will disappear when the time ends. 

Engadget reported Threads is testing the option to put a 24-hour expiration timer on their posts, after which the post and all its replies would disappear, Stories-style. A spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that the feature is being tested among a group of users after its was first spotted earlier this summer by Alessandro Paluzzi.

It sounds a lot like pre-X Twitter’s Fleets, which didn’t exactly catch on. But, the ephemeral format could save habitual post-deleters some trouble.

It comes a few months after Instagram head Adam Mosseri shared that Threads was experimenting with auto-archiving. That optional feature would let users designate a date for their posts to be hidden from the feed. But Threads users in the past have indicated that they largely aren’t into the idea of automatically archiving, and such a feature hasn’t yet shown up on a wider scale.

PCMag reported Threads is test-driving an option that lets people put an expiration date on their posts. Similar to Instagram Stories, it automatically delete a post after 24 hours. 

Developer Alessandro Paluzzi first posted about the feature earlier this summer, and it’s now being tested with a small group of users, Meta tells TechCrunch. Details are scant; Threads says only that the option is “a new and casual way to share.”

In a screenshot shared by Paluzzi in June, an expiring post features a banner up top that says: “Your post and all replies will be automatically deleted in 24 hours and removed from your profile.” In another screenshot posted by TechCrunch, a banner atop says: “This thread and all replies will disappear when the timer ends.” This lets you know how much time is left on the clock.

In my opinion, I think people who are on Threads might like to have the ability to set a timer and know when that post would automatically disappear. 

Meta’s X Rival Gains Multiple Drafts, Audience Insights

Meta

Meta’s X rival Threads announced a number of new features today, including the ability to store multiple drafts, a way to rearrange columns on the desktop and insights into the user’s audience.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also mentioned that the company plans to add a post-scheduling feature soon, TechCrunch reported.

The company noted that these new features mark the first anniversary of Threads launching its web version in August 2023.

Threads initially began testing drafts in February this year and rolled it out to all users weeks later in March. Now, the platform will allow you to to save multiple drafts with a limit of 100 drafts per account.

Meta is also rolling out a new user Insights screen the shows the age, gender and location of people who view and engage with you. The screen also shows total views and interactions with your posts bifurcated by followers and non-followers.

Meta posted the following on its Newsroom:

Today, we’re excited to announce new web features to help you understand how your Threads content is performing and simply the planning process. We think these features will be particularly helpful to creators and businesses who use Threads to connect with new and existing audiences.

Leave No Great Idea Behind: Sometimes a great idea needs a few takes, especially when you have more than one. We’re introducing the ability to write and save multiple drafts of your Threads posts before sharing them with your followers. Currently, you can save up to 100 of your best ideas for as long as you want, and post them when you’re ready.

Map Out Your Content: Content planning helps creators and businesses maintain a consistent online presence. Our new scheduling feature will help with this process by allowing you to create Threads posts and schedule them to publish a later date and time. You can schedule multiple posts a day, multiple days in advance.

Our newest updates are just another step in the evolution of Threads, and we’ll continue rolling out updates that make Threads better for everyone.

The Verge reported Meta is testing a handful of new features on Threads, its X competitor, the company announced today.

The new additions range from options that average Threads user might appreciate to content management tools that feel more directly aimed at brands. Threads, which passed the one-year mark since its official launch on July 5th, 2023, now has more than 200 million monthly active users, including some celebrities and brand accounts.

Users will also get new ways to customize their Threads homepage by reordering pinned columns. The columns were part of an earlier update to the desktop site that gave Threads a TweetDeck-like look, allowing users to keep eyes on multiple feeds.

In my opinion, the changes that Meta has made to Threads sound good. The changes could make Threads users more engaged in the platform.

Meta Is Testing Messaging Capabilities For Threads

Threads, ,

As Threads has grown to more than 130 million users, one of the major remaining “missing” features users often complain about is the lack of direct messaging abilities. But those missing out on DMs may soon have a new option to message other Threads users, Engadget reported.

Meta is starting to test messaging features that rely on Instagram’s inbox but allow new messages to be initiated from the Threads app. The feature has begun to appear for some Threads users, who report seeing a “message” button atop other users’ profiles where the “mention” feature used to be. A spokesman for Meta confirmed the change, saying the company was “testing the ability to send a message from Threads to Instagram.”

Of note, Threads still doesn’t have its own inbox, and it’s not clear if it ever will. Instagram head Adam Mosseri has said multiple times that he doesn’t want to create a separate inbox for Threads, but would rather “make the Instagram inbox work” in the app. A Meta spokesperson further confirmed that “this is not a test of the DMs on Threads.”

CNET reported that the “fediverse” is a collection of social media platforms that can talk to each other. Meta announced on March 21 that Threads would be joining the fediverse. With its more than 130 million monthly active subscribers. Threads is introducing millions of people to the fediverse.

According to CNET, the way you use your Threads account won’t change. It just means you’ll have more opportunities to share your posts more widely, particularly with another popular platform in the fediverse, Mastodon. Eagle-eyed Threads users recently spotted President Biden’s Threads account taking advantage of the new feature.

If you’re on Threads, you can now choose to opt into fediverse sharing. If you do, your Threads account and posts will be discoverable on all fediverse platforms, exposing your posts more widely. You can post on Threads, and people can like, reply, and repost on Mastodon.

Social Media Today reported this week, Meta launched a new live test of DMs on Threads, with some users seeing a new “Message” CTA button on Threads profiles.

According to Social Media Today, the Threads DM option will technically enable you to send messages to users via the app. But, that message won’t be via Threads itself. Instead, you’ll actually be sending your DM to their Instagram inbox.

It’s still a DM option within Threads, providing an advanced connection process within the app. But many will be disappointed that Threads isn’t getting its own DM inbox, which, as a replica of Twitter, would bring it more in line with Twitter’s functionality, and make it easier to use in a broader range of applications.

In my opinion, it’s good that Threads’ users can send DMs to people they know on Instagram. Unfortunately, as someone who uses Instagram (but not Threads), those messages feel like clutter.

Threads Is Rolling Out Trending Topics To All Users In The US

Threads,

Threads, the Twitter-like app from Instagram, is rolling out its “trending now” feature widely to all users in the U.S. The official rollout comes a month after the app started testing the feature with a select number of users in the country. Trending topics are available on the search page and in the app’s For You Feed, TechCrunch reported.

In a Threads post, Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced the official launch and noted that the company sees it as “an easy way to see what others are talking about on Threads.”

The launch of trending topics will bring Threads more in-line with X, as it will allow users to find timely conversations that are taking place on the social network. Up until now, Threads has been lacking a real-time sense of community, and the introduction of trending topics could help remedy this as it lets you get an idea of what people are currently discussing outside of what you see in your own feeds.

According to TechCrunch, the feature is somewhat limited, as Threads only displays five trending topics at a time, while X shows you multiple. It’s possible that Threads may be limiting the number of trending topics to prevent issues around safety and spam.

Gizmodo reported Thread users in the United States will finally be able to see what topics are trending on the app, a longhand staple feature of Twitter, according to a post from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday. The “Trending Now” page appears under the search bar on Threads.

“Trending now is rolling out to the US today so you can see what people are talking about on Threads,” said Mark Zuckerberg in a post on Threads.

According to Gizmodo, Meta tested a trending page on Threads earlier this year called “Today’s Topics.” It appears the company shifted the name of the page to a more familiar name. The “Trending” page has been a staple of Twitter, Threads’ competitor, for years and it’s been highly cited as a missing feature of the Threads platform.

Meta launched Threads last summer, and it blew up in popularity with 49 million users in the first two days. Then all the hype faded away as many of those millions who signed up for the platform when it was first released just stopped using it. Since then, Meta continued to add new feature such as a web browser version, a retweet-like feature called reposts, and even an edit button. These features have made Threads a popular app once again, and Meta said last month that there are more users now than at launch.

Engadget reported Meta is finally providing a bit of visibility into what kinds of conversations are happening on its Twitter competitor, Threads. The service is rolling out its “trending now” feature to all US users, Mark Zuckerberg said in a post.

For now, the feature is still fairly limited. Threads only shows five trending topics at any one time, which is likely an attempt to keep the list relatively curated and avoid some of the issues that have plagued the feature on Twitter and now X.

In my opinion, it is probably good that Threads is attempting to provide users with new features while also curating what goes into trending topics. That might help keep the Meta’s social media alive for a while.

Threads Is Working On A Fix For The “Low Quality” Recommend Posts

Threads

Whether or not you’ve been actively using Threads, you may have noticed – thanks to its integration into the Instagram feed – an off-putting shift in the kinds of posts the platform has been recommending over the last few weeks, Engadget reported.

At best, you might be seeing tons of content that is of no interest to you whatsoever, or copypasta-style engagement bait. At worst? A whole lot of hate speech. In a short video shared on Friday responding to an Ask Me Anything question, Instagram head Adam Mosseri apologized for the “low-quality recommendations” proliferating on Threads and said the team is working on a fix.

“We want people to have a positive experience on Threads, and we’ve actually had some issues over the last few weeks with low-quality recommendations,” Mosseri said, “things that don’t quite violate our Community Guidelines – which is where we take content down entirely – but kind of go right up to that line. We’re working on improving it. A lot of it should be fixed at this point.” He goes on to say that while “there’s a lot more work to do,” users can “expect it to get much better over the next few weeks.”

Social Media Today reported that, as outlined by Mosseri, more Threads users have been shown more borderline content in the app, which is a problem that the team is working to fix, a it continues to improve the 6-month-old platform.

Though the borderline content issue is not a new one for social apps.

Back in 2018, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg provided a broad overview of the ongoing issues with content consumption, and how controversial content inevitably always gains more traction. 

Here is a quote from Mark Zuckerberg that was posted on Social Media Today:

“One of the biggest issues that social networks face is that, when left unchecked, people will engage disproportionately with more sensationalist and provocative content. This is not a new phenomenon. It is widespread on cable news today and has been a staple of tabloids for more than a century. At scale, it can undermine the quality of public discourse and lead to polarization. In our case, it can also degrade the quality of our services.”

Zuckerberg further noted that this is a difficult challenge to solve, because “no matter where we draw the lines for what is allowed, as a piece of content gets close to that line, people will engage with it more on average – even when they tell us afterwards they don’t like the content.”

According to Social Media Today, it seems that Threads is now falling into the same trap, possibly due to its rapid growth, possibly due to the real-time refinement of its systems. But this is how all social networks evolve, with controversial content getting a bigger push, because that is actually what a lot of people are going to engage with.

In my opinion, it is good that Adam Mosseri is working on fixing the problem of the low-quality content that appears to be all over Threads. Doing so makes it clear that he is aware of the problem, and will try to clean up Threads.

 

Meta’s Threads Launches In Europe

Meta,

Meta Platforms rolled out Threads in Europe, months after the Facebook and Instagram parent launched the microblogging app in the U.S. The Wall Street Journal reported.

Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch Thursday on Threads, writing that “we’re opening Threads to more countries in Europe.”

Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta planned to launch Threads in Europe in December in its largest market expansion since its debut in July.

Upon its initial launch, Threads became available to most markets worldwide, but Meta had withheld launching in the European Union because of the bloc’s regulations for online services, which are among the toughest in the world.

Users in the EU can choose to create a Threads profile connected to their Instagram account, or use it without a profile to search accounts, browse and share content via link copying or platform sharing, but without the ability to create a post or interact with other content, Meta said in a statement.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Threads’ market expansion comes after several advertisers paused their ad spending on Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, after he made controversial comments from his account.

Meta posted an update about Threads on December 14, 2023:

Today, Mark Zuckerberg announced that we are expanding Threads to countries across Europe. We’re excited to give more people the opportunity to follow and join the conversations they care about. Since launching Threads in July, we’ve made significant improvements to the app, including a web experience, a Following Feed, the ability to edit a post, search with keywords, tag topics and more.

People in the EU can choose to create a Threads profile that is connected to their Instagram account – which means they get the same experience as everyone else around the world – or use Threads without a profile. People who use Threads without a profile can browse content on Threads, search for accounts, share content via link copying or platform sharing, and report Threads content, but can’t create a post or interact with content.

We are excited to see more people using Threads and will continue to listen to community feedback to further improve the experience for everyone.

The Guardian reported that before launching Threads in the EU, Meta first needed to seek approval from the European Commission over the app’s privacy provisions. Many speculated the delay was due to the EU Digital Markets Act, which addressed a variety of big tech antitrust and privacy concerns – including sharing content across platforms.

Meta did not specifically site the act as the reason for the delay, but the Instagram executive Adam Mosseri said: “The complexities without complying with some of the laws coming into effect next year are significant.”

I don’t use Threads, but I can see the benefit of it for people who have chosen that social media platform. In my opinion, (almost) any social media site is better than what’s going on at X, formerly known as Twitter.

Meta Starts Testing Integration With ActivityPub

Meta, ,

Mark Zuckerberg said today that Meta has started testing a feature to show Threads posts on Mastodon and other ActivityPub protocol-supported networks, TechCrunch reported.

Mark Zuckerberg posted on Threads: “Starting a test where posts from Threads accounts will be available on Mastodon and other services that use the ActivityPub protocol. Making Threads interoperable will give people more choice over how they interact and it will help content reach more people. I’m pretty optimistic about this.”

According to TechCrunch, while this is an important step for Threads to be part of the federated social network, Zuckerberg didn’t provide any detail on how the integration might work just yet. 

It’s not clear what is the roadmap for Thread’s ActivityPub integration might let you easily cross-post between Mastodon (or other ActivityPub-powered networks) and Threads or move your data around. 

The Verge reported that joining the fediverse – the decentralized world of social media that includes Mastodon, Pixelfed, and other services that all interoperate through ActivityPub – has been on Threads team’s to-do list since the very beginning. 

Instagram head Adam Mosseri told The Verge in July that he believed decentralizing the platform was the key to making it relevant to a new generation of creators. “I think we might be a more compelling platform for creators, particularly for the newer creators who are more and more savvy, if we are a place where you don’t have to feel like you have trust us forever.”

According to The Verge, skeptics have long held that Threads would never actually federate, even as Zuckerberg, Mosseri, and others at Meta kept promising they would. For the largest and most centralized social service on the web, suddenly throwing open the gates to other platforms seemed like an unlikely pivot. 

And as Threads got bigger and more mature, ActivityPub integration became a bigger project – and as the platform became more successful, there were reasons for Meta to try and back off its decentralized plans. But it appears the company might actually do it.

Engadget reported Meta is taking its first step toward making Threads compatible with the fediverse. A new test will make some Threads content available on Mastodon and other apps for the first time, Mark Zuckerberg announced in a post on Threads.

It wasn’t immediately clear how this would work or how much Threads content might be available on Mastodon or other services. But the company previously introduced the ability to verify your Threads profile on Mastodon, so Meta does have some insight into Threads users who are also active in the fediverse.

Personally, I think it might be interesting to see Threads content on the Fediverse. It might be good for people who are on the fediverse to see posts from friends who chose Threads over Bluesky.

Personally, I think it might be interesting to see Threads content on the fediverse. It might be good for people who are on the fediverse to see posts from friends who chose Threads over Bluesky.