Why the Early Success of Threads May Crash Into Reality [Content Made Simple]
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Why the Early Success of Threads May Crash Into Reality [Content Made Simple]
Issue #318: AI jokes, Threads changes, and more.
TOP OF THE WEEK
Why the Early Success of Threads May Crash Into Reality
Quote:
In the history of Silicon Valley, big tech companies have often become even bigger tech companies by using their scale as a built-in advantage. But as Google+ shows, bigness alone is no guarantee of winning the fickle and faddish social media market.
This is the challenge that Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, now faces as he tries to dislodge Twitter and make Threads the prime app for real-time, public conversations. If tech history is any guide, size and scale are solid footholds — but ultimately can only go so far.
Commentary:
Really good analysis from Mike Isaac, one of the best writers on social media today.
THE TRIVIA QUESTION
In what state was the first Taco Bell opened?
Answer at the bottom.
HITTING THE LINKS
Link #1: Branded content tools coming to Threads
Of course!
Instagram is planning to bring its branded content tools to Threads, a source told Axios, giving marketers a way to get involved with paid promotion on the app while advertising is still off limits.
Why it matters: Companies see a clear advantage in being a first-mover on Threads, but with the rules around paid promotion in flux, it's unclear the best way to get involved beyond creating organic posts.
Link #2: Is A.I. the Greatest Technology Ever for Making Dumb Jokes?
Great piece by Max Read as usual.
Over the past year, Prime Voice AI and other so-called generative, or content-producing, A.I. apps like the image generator app Midjourney and the chatbot ChatGPT have opened up to public use. An urgent, prophetic tone has taken hold in the Twitter threads, Substack newsletters and hectoring newspaper columns through which the thought leaders of Silicon Valley speak to their audiences.
Link #3: Zombie Twitter Has Arrived
Man, all of these links today are from some of my favorite writers on the internet. This is great from Ian and Charlie.
Threads is here. It’s Twitter, but on Instagram. If that makes sense to you, we’re sorry, and also, you are the target audience for Threads: people who like to publish text posts on the internet but say they have ~worries~ (with tildes, just like that) about Elon Musk, the billionaire-king who now owns the bird app. Threads might bring excitement, even hope to those who have benefited from posting short bits of online text to the world—journalists, influencers, white nationalists, #brands, et al. But those feelings may be misguided. Social media cannot become good again, because we will not let it evolve. It can merely live and die over and over, like a zombie.
THE FUNNY PART
You can subscribe to The Funnies here. (It is a weekly email of funny internet content, and it will always be free.)
Trivia Answer: California (in 1962)
Why the Early Success of Threads May Crash Into Reality [Content Made Simple]
I really appreciate the comparison with Google+, which I hadn't thought about in years. But it does show that an app can get off to a great start and then go into a steep decline. I'm still very undecided about Threads. If it can maintain a kind tone and remain at least semi-serious, I can see myself sticking with it. But already it's being used to share trite memes more than have good discussions and I expect it also won't take long for the tone to take a turn. And then there's the fact that I don't trust Meta the least little bit...
Threads...it’s mostly posting into a void. On Twitter I had a crew...but I shut down my account...just painful to watch. I liked Google+... but like Tim, it disappeared into oblivion in my memory. I think I’m just going to start writing letters again.