Meta launched its Twitter rival, Threads, last night a day ahead of schedule. Within the first 24 hours, the app had more than 30 million signups.

So far, I'd say the general opinion is that Threads is well-built, if a little underwhelming in terms of excitement.

But a piece from Gizmodo today points out that this might actually be the key to its success:

On a chaotic internet fueled by outrage, dull may be what users and advertisers want. All Meta has to do to crush Twitter is provide a safe and stable alternative where you can make your dumb little posts and get likes from your followers. So far, it’s working. Threads is pure banality.

… If Threads can get around some headwinds, the app has major advantages that could pave the way for Meta’s victory and Twitter’s disaster.

🚢 Brands Already Jumping On Board

So, to the marketing implications.

First, many brands have jumped aboard already. This is in stark contrast to the many other Twitter competitors — BlueSky, Mastodon, T2, Spoutible — most of those have been given a pass by brands.

Which makes sense, given that Threads pulls its data from Instagram, where many brands already have a presence, so it's easy for them to hop in.

On the advertising front… nothing. There are no ads on Threads, but the company says ads will be how they monetize. For now, they're just working on building the app and its community. Almost certainly, you'll be able to run ads to Threads, and it will show up as a Placement in Ads Manager.

For influencer marketing… nothing established. There are no partnership labels or the same kind of connection tools that Instagram has, though I suppose nothing prevents you from running that kind of campaign informally.

🌐 The Decentralized Future

One of the more surprising things Meta promises is it will soon join ActivityPub — that's the growing decentralized network that Mastodon and other platforms use. 

If that comes to fruition, it means people will be able to easily leave Threads, take their content with them to another platform, and redirect their followers to their new home. It also means you'd be able to follow someone's Threads account on Mastodon. Or vice versa. 

Which means the API that would drive that most likely would not push ads down the pipe — much in the way Twitter's API or Reddit's API contain only the content, not the ads.

That's part of the reason why not everyone is convinced they'll follow through on that. Liz Hagelthorn worked at Twitter, and today runs PostMarket, a content licencing platform. I spoke with her this afternoon.

I can definitely see a world in which Threads exploits and takes advantage of current decentralized networks. But will that be a two-way street where the decentralized network can take advantage of Threads? 

I don't see it happening without a paywall for API access or some type of deal with the devil there. That's never happened in Instagram's entire history until competition came along.

🚫 Limitations of the App

The app, still in its infancy, of course, falls short in a few areas. One of the biggest problems is that you can't set your timeline to view posts from just the accounts you follow. Most people's feed is overrun by celebrities, brands, and influencers you don't follow in the app.

Instagram's head, Adam Mosseri, says it's “on the list” of features the platform wants to add.

Other features that are “on the list” include:

• Post editing support [ed: I'll believe it when I see it]
• Hashtags
• Search ability
• An easier way to switch between different Threads accounts

🚫 Elon Angry. Elon Very Angry.

This afternoon, one of Twitter's lawyers sent Mark Zuckerberg a letter threatening to sue Meta over the app. 

The letter claims that Meta hired “dozens” of former Twitter employees to develop Threads — which is a little rich, considering Elon fired more than half of the company's employees.

But Twitter says many of these people still still have access to its trade secrets and Meta took advantage of the situation by creating a copycat app. 

A Meta spokesperson posted to his own Threads account: 

Images: Meta / Threads