Have you met Threads?

I’m sure, by now you have heard of Meta’s new app. If you have not joined yet, you need to change that immediately!

I joined Twitter in January 2009. It was still in its infancy. Companies were just beginning to start using it as a form of marketing. Not many people were on it, so it was easy to meet new people, have great conversations, and enjoy this new form of social media together. Some of the best times I have had online have been on Twitter during Super Bowls or the Oscars or the Emmys. It is where I learned just how funny, creative, and observant we are as a species. I met friends, strengthened older friendships, created bookish events, participated in even more, and had a blast doing it.

We all know that Twitter has been nothing like that for a long time now. I managed to block most of the trolls or at least manage my feed well enough to avoid the worst of the vitriol. I also stopped actively participating on Twitter because no one talked anymore. It became a chore instead of an activity.

Threads changes all that. It has all the feel of early Twitter, and it is such a breath of fresh air. People are deliberately trying to keep it a friendly place by blocking trolls instead of interacting with them. I also see people purposely not cross-posting and making Threads more about quality rather than quantity. The humor is back, as is the creativity - all without the drive for followers and views. Did I mention how refreshing it is?

I see people talk about privacy concerns with Meta or about not being able to delete your account without also deleting your Instagram account. All I can say to that is if you have an Instagram, WhatsApp, or Facebook account, Meta already has your data. We all know Zuck is a billionaire twat who only cares about the masses insofar as how much money he can make off of us. At least Zuck is not actively (or at least not publicly) catering to fascists and promoting lies.

Threads is a welcome change to social media. If we can keep it as engaging and as polite as it is now, it is the perfect place to find new friends, pop into random conversations without worrying about the blowback, laugh at people’s witticisms, and enjoy the written word instead of a barrage of reels and memes, music, and skits. If you haven’t done so, go check out Threads. I don’t think you will be disappointed.