Waiting to see Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk put the bread in the Octagon, the first match took place on July 6, 2023.
By casting Threads, the Meta boss comes to step on the flat bands of his sworn enemy. Threads for Instagram is a new microblogging platform that, frankly, is hyped up on Twitter.
The promise of “Zuck” is to offer a mix between Twitter and Mastodon by associating the Instagram interface with the fevers (a set of servers that form a social network). Just remember that Threads wants to replace Twitter in your heart and on your smartphone.
Available in 100 countries from July 6, 2023 (excluding Europe due to GDPR breaches), Threads is coming at the right time. Wanting to have too much fun with his new toy, Elon Musk angered Twitter users, who had to put up with another fad from the world’s richest man (the limitation of viewing tweets).
This time it’s too much. So when Meta announced the availability of Threads, 10 million users used it in just 7 hours. Within a day, there were 20 million followers. We are part of it. Thanks to a very simple little technique, we can all install Threads on our smartphones in France.
So we did, and we explored the social network that is experiencing one of the strongest starts ever, if not the strongest. So can threads make you forget about Twitter? Spoiler alert: yes, even if it’s far from perfect.
What we liked about the threads
The principle of Threads is the same as that of Twitter. In addition, Mark Zuckerberg fully assumes having copied the bluebird and even seems to take it lightly. After all, it would not be the first time that Meta is “inspired” by her competitors.
Threads, therefore, uses the principle of Twitter but is 100% free. So you can post short messages limited to 500 characters (much longer than tweets), repost a thread, quote, or like it. Teaser, Mark Zuckerberg even added an option to share directly to Twitter.
Everything seems to have been designed to enjoy a simple and clear experience. The interface (UX) is refined, it is available in light or dark mode and uses Instagram codes.
Because Threads is a social network derived from Instagram. As such, signing up for Threads is a breeze if you already have an Insta account, you just need to use it to log in.
You can then automatically import your Instagram profile information and even follow your followers. Operation time: 10 seconds.
Since it is reserved for a hundred countries, Threads is currently used mainly by an English-speaking audience. But throughout this first day of testing, our community grew with French-speaking threaders, mainly other journalists, content creators, or technology/digital enthusiasts. Pretty logical for an app that isn’t officially open to the general public yet.
After a day of use, it’s hard to hide our enthusiasm. Threads has all the ingredients to forget about Twitter. The appeal of novelty makes for a benevolent and relaxed atmosphere, an environment that risks becoming tense over time. Let’s be clear: the problem with social networks is not the platform but the human.
Let’s rejoice anyway with this great launch momentum and the quality of the app. Despite some youthful mistakes, The threads are soft, fast, and ergonomic.
We just regret the absence of features that could have made a difference to Twitter.
what threads are missing
In the areas of areas for improvement, thread editing is probably one of the most notable absences. No, Threads does not allow you to modify a thread. Like on Twitter, you have to delete your thread and start over. Grrrr!
Media integration is not always the most aesthetic. Links to articles, for example, are not always very visual. It is impossible to embed a GIF in the comments of a thread (or our application has crashed), the hashtags do not exist yet.
We also regret having to start all over again to build an audience. If we can follow our entire Instagram community with a single click, we don’t automatically retrieve our registered Threads followers. This has the advantage of solving but also the need to rework your community. And even if that means boring Twitter, why not give the ability to import your Twitter followers?
Also, note that video integration is still not perfect. We were also very surprised that we couldn’t embed Instagram Reels in a thread. There is no news reserved for our followers either: it is everyone or no one.
Some users request a “Private Message” feature. A desire that we understand but that, in our opinion, is not essential, being Instagram and Messenger are already two messaging services from the Meta group.
What else? Nothing. Threads’ biggest flaw is that it’s not offered in Europe. Therefore, we will have to wait for Meta to comply with the rules of the GDPR. On this point, the company has not communicated any date.
So the question everyone is asking is: can threads replace Twitter? We are firmly convinced of this. We would be even more so if Meta corrected the few youthful flaws. Especially if, at the same time, Elon Musk continues to clip the wings of his bluebird.
But that’s just our opinion.
