Twitter Has Nothing to Fear From Instagram Threads

Social media really just isn't my thing. But, sometimes my job requires me to cover the latest tech trends, so I have to spend a few days using a temp account my job creates for me. As many of you already know, I've quit social media.

So, thanks to work, I created an Instagram account and a Threads account. Yes, you sadly have to have an Instagram account to use Threads. There's no workaround. Pretty big red flag right there if you ask me.

Was I blown away by this epic Twitter killer? Should Elon Musk be shaking in his overly expensive, yet probably tacky looking boots?

Nope. Not at all. In fact, Musk is probably laughing his ass off. Zuckerberg had an opportunity here, but he blew it. There's a reason so many people have left Facebook and Instagram. The algorithm sucks. Now, imagine a social media platform where the worst Meta has to offer is packaged as something shiny and new. Ta-da! You have Threads.

I know I sound harsh. I get the whole FOMO thing and why everyone rushes to be on the latest platform and make sure the world notices them. I get the need to connect, but I also know that in the last few years alone, dozens of social networks that were going to be the next big thing have already come and gone.

The only reason Threads has any traction right now is because Twitter users are epically pissed at Elon Musk for turning the platform into a joke.

What was supposed to be a free network with a few premium upgrades (that weren't really necessary unless you really wanted them) is now a disaster area. Users who relied on Twitter for timely updates from news sources, weather, and more are being told they can't view anymore tweets for the day because they used the site too much.

Okay, I get wanting to encourage people to upgrade to a magical blue checkmark, but come on now. We all know those checkmarks mean nothing now. I've done my research. Sadly, many of those checkmarks are going to accounts that do nothing but rip off content from the original creators, while the original creators get denied checkmarks. Great way to build trust, right?

But, even with the trainwreck that Twitter's become, it's still looks like social media nirvana compared to Threads.

If you haven't tried out Threads (just save yourself the horror and don't), you probably can't even begin to imagine how bad it is. If you love Threads, good for you, but there's really nothing to love unless you're just doing it as some kind of protest or you just instantly love anything Meta does.

So why do I think Threads doesn't stand a real chance?

1. No way to just see the people you're following. None at all. I had to scroll past almost 40 "threads" just to find someone I was following. This is all to help you discover more content. If I wanted to discover something new, I'd search for it.
2. You must have an Instagram account. Basically, you must sign up for two social networks at once.
3. You can't delete Threads without deleting Instagram. If you love Instagram, but hate Threads. Sorry. There's no way out except to deactivate your Threads profile, which doesn't delete anything.
4. You can only search for users, not topics. That's right. No more topics or hashtags like Instagram has.
5. It's owned by Meta. Let's be honest, none of these big Internet companies really care about your privacy, not even Apple. But, Meta (aka Facebook) has kind of become the king of flaunting how much they don't care.
6. You can't make lists. When I used to be on Facebook and Twitter, I loved that I could make lists to group the accounts I followed. This made it quick to see just the content I wanted at any given time. Threads just throws a bunch of random content at you with a small smattering of the accounts you want to see.
7. If you're trying to build an audience, there's no rhyme or reason as to how accounts show up in a user's feed. So, that doesn't really make it that useful unless you already have a following elsewhere and can bring them with you. But, still, good luck at getting your content noticed.

Despite millions of sign-ups on day one, Threads started unraveling the moment it launched.

Frankly, I miss the days of MySpace. I miss friends sucking up to you in real life so you'd put them higher on your ranked friends list. I loved how simple things were. Add some music, decorate your page, and see just the content you chose to follow.

Okay, so I'm old, but I honestly believe all the drama from social media platform hopping and trying to manage a dozen networks may just be aging millions of users faster than any of use care to think.