This week Instagram (aka Meta) launched Threads, its new text based micro-bloggin app to rival the likes of Twitter and Mastodon.

Unlike Twitter, Threads is part of the fedeverse which essentially means it can (eventually, it’s not enabled yet) show a federated set of content from other fedeverse apps like Mastodon and Bluesky.

Of course, this has annoyed Elon Musk and now Twitter is threatening to sue Meta for copying. Perhaps he’s just sour becuase Threads amassed over 50 million users on day one!

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While it’s core functionality is very similar to Twitter, there are some things which sets Threads apart.

Firstly, signing up is as easy as connecting your Instagram account. You can bring over your profile information and auto follow the same people you follow on Instagram. This is why Threads has such massive growth on day one. Everyone was already there and already connected!

The home feed is a little weird. It currently shows posts from people you follow and people you don’t. It’s not clear what the algorithm here is so finding you might find yourself losing your place in the feed.

There’s no #hashtags, no dark mode (the web version does though), no draft posts and no edit button! Hopefully Meta are taking note of all the people pointing out some of these issues (including myself) and we’ll get some good updates in the coming weeks.

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So while the app needs some work, so far I like it. All my friends are there and they’re talking. There’s no ads and no trolls. Its a breath of fresh air we all needed.

Check my Threads