Threads burst onto the social media scene on the 5th of July this year and whilst it has certainly gained attention, is it a good platform and should you use it?

The short answer is: yes. But, the long answer is a lot more complicated.

What is Threads?

Threads is Meta’s answer to Twitter and was developed in response to Elon Musk’s acquisition of the rival platform early last year (Twitter was recently rebranded as X - more on that later - this post refers to Twitter as the longer-standing name). However, it is worth noting that it is not a like-for-like recreation, Twitter has a more advanced feature set with features such as a trending list, hashtags, profile cover images and a web client - not to mention TweetDeck.

Meanwhile Threads is heavily reliant on its heavyweight cousin Instagram, requiring an Instagram account for sign-up and shared profile information across the two platforms. But that’s not a bad thing, allowing users to seamlessly sign-up for the platform and even follow the same accounts as they join Threads. It also currently lacks any form of Advertisements and Promoted Content for a clearer browsing experience.

The core principles of Threads are precisely like Twitter’s, though, with users starting a ‘thread’ instead of a ‘tweet,’ with repost, reply, like and share functions available in a similar way to Twitter.

Is Threads Good?

Here the comparisons with Twitter really count alongside the recent activities of Elon Musk. Threads is shaping up to be a lot calmer platform with less abhorrent content than Twitter and due to its links with Instagram already has a well-established and highly functional verification program. The same cannot be said for Twitter.

Twitter’s Blue subscription offering launched recently, changing the previously free nature of the platform with a £6.90 monthly subscription fee to access a new feature set including an edit button, bookmark folders and additional text formatting options. This has seemed to most users as a step backwards and marked the beginning of the platforms change which has only been hastened by Elon Musk’s buy out.

A rate limit was briefly introduced earlier this year under Musk’s new leadership before the phase out of the legacy verification program in favour of a new program accessible through Twitter Blue. Finally, and most notably, the platform is currently undergoing a rebrand to be called X - a major change opposed by all but the most supportive of Musk.

But why hasn’t this madcap scheme been stopped? Some believe that the board of directors and Twitter staff are too scared to oppose Musk but it may also be the imprint of increasing subscription plans within the technology sector, with platforms such as Netflix, Microsoft 365, Adobe Creative Cloud and many more now only offering their service through a monthly or yearly subscription. Even Pantone colours have a subscription now!

With all of the changes to Twitter, many users are now migrating to Threads due to its many benefits over its Musk counterpart in addition to many people wishing to explore what the platform has to offer. So, should you use Threads?

Why I am Moving to Threads

Threads seems like an inviting option and for me it’s an easy decision to switch away from Twitter for me, it’s easier to get used to a new platform than to get dragged kicking and screaming through the changes of a beloved one. Twitter will always have a place in my heart but the recent changes make it an unstable and tumultuous platform. Threads offers apparent stability and calm although with Mark Zuckerberg at its helm it’s unlikely that it will remain that way forever, however, it will not be radically changed like Twitter.

You can follow me on Threads below and I look forward to seeing you there!

Image Sources

Article Icon: Content from Threads by Meta, 2023

First Image: Composite of content from Wikimedia Commons, 2022 and 2023 (var. authors)

Second Image: Composite of content from X, 2023