The Inbox...

It is still very early in the game, but so far, FTVLive has given Meta’s Threads, the Twitter alternative, a thumbs up.

You can follow FTVLive on Threads here.

Some of you are weighing in on Threads, and we thought we would share.

Email:

Scott,

I also enjoy Threads more than Twitter right now.  It is extremely refreshing to not see a lot of crap, but to see people actually post some good content.

Twitter has become a platform of hate, division, and even adult content that other social media sites would not allow.  I have not been on that place for quite a while now, and I don't really miss it.

To see millions sign up for Theads show that people are ready for something different and less toxic.  A good way would also to not give in whatever BS anyone tries to start.

Thank you!

Email:

Scott,

Like you, I have grown tired of social media and for the most part, have stepped away.

But after tooling around Threads for the past few days, I think Zuckerberg could be onto something.

I will watch over the coming months to see if this really is the Twitter we always wanted.

Take care!

This comes from Amber Mac, and her take on Threads so far.

Mark Zuckerberg started his social media empire (now called Meta) in 2004. Along the way, there have been many missteps, including issues with user privacy, fake news, online harms, and more. There have also been some improvements, a few apologies, and signs that there is an adult in the house.

Elon Musk, on the other hand, is a baby in the social space. After he bought Twitter in 2022, we’ve seen tantrum after tantrum (mislabeling news sites, shutting journalist accounts, suffering platform meltdowns), but perhaps nothing more childish than his behaviour just this week when Zuckerberg’s Twitter-like app Threads reached 100M users in less than a week.

Musk called Zuck a “cuck” for his move into the short-form content space and challenged Meta’s CEO to a "literal d*ck measuring contest". I wish I were kidding.

Beyond this billionaire spat, Threads is quickly showing signs that it offers a better user experience than Twitter. The Threads app makes it easy to follow your Instagram community, photos and videos display beautifully, and the posting process is mostly rock solid. To further quantify what I mean when I say better, what Threads potentially offers is a platform where there are guardrails in place to properly manage everything from bothersome bots to online hate.

While I certainly don’t agree with much of what Zuckerberg has done over the years, we know he can build in the digital space. As for Musk, we know he can go to space, but his first few months running a social media company don't inspire much confidence. In other words, in this case, better to follow the devil you know, especially if he's learned some lessons and is showing some signs of maturity.