What would you do to sit with the popular kids? It’s a question that we humans have to deal with everyday, even in the phase of life known as adulthood where the teenage politics of high schoolers have transformed to water-cooler conversations on social media. Ironically, the one-percenters who may have never had the so-called privilege of sitting at the popular table in their youth are churning out apps that constantly reinforce that very culture.
The productive ones have been able to utilize platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to launch businesses, solve cold cases, and motivate the masses. However, no one can deny that the digital era has also brought on an onslaught of naughty behavior in the form of cyber-bullying and harmful challenges, for instance.
But all of that is neither here or there because Mark Zuckerberg and his silicon valley conglomerate, Meta Platforms, opened the gateways to its latest app, Threads, joining a portfolio that already includes Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Threads is being deemed the “Twitter Killer” app, rivaling the blue-bird, text-based platform.
Every complaint users had about Twitter since fellow one-percenter Elon Musk took over the company has become motivation for millions of people to sign up for Threads. For reference, those complaints consisted of too much censorship, too many ads, limited viewership, and a whole debacle about the verified badge no longer being exclusive.
Threads maintains a similar aesthetic as Twitter, mixed with Instagram, allowing users to type up to 500 characters per post, and to reply and repost others’ posts. Users are able to sign up for the app through Instagram with the added benefit of inviting IG followers to follow on Threads. One other thing, the Threads account cannot be deleted unless the source account on Instagram is deleted.
Those who had verified profiles on Instagram will also be verified on Threads. Although the app has yet to be monetized, the ad-based and data mining business models are definitely on the horizon for implementation.
Tutorial On How to Use Threads
The amount of people vying for an account was at the tune of 30 million upon the app’s launch on Wednesday (July 5). Meanwhile, Zuckerberg has bigger numbers in sight.
“It’ll take some time, but I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion-plus people on it,” said an optimistic Zuckerberg on a Threads post. “Twitter has had the opportunity do this, but hasn’t nailed it. Hopefully, we will.”
The chase for the latest app has become a habitual, potent combination of Bird Box, Mean Girls, and Hunger Games — a bunch of blurry visioned, wannabe popular, thirsty consumers fighting to survive in a world where not having a digital imprint could affect networking and job opportunities, along with a very necessary social life. Yet, with each new profile, we’re unwittingly leaving a blueprint of human behavior, including language subtext and cultural innuendos, for emerging AI technology to scour. It feels appropriate to add a Humbug right here. Humbug!
At the end of the day, what we’re willing to exchange our discretions for the chance at redemption. Hopefully, in that redemption we can edit the parts of us perceived as lacking and instead, present the best versions of ourselves so that we, too, can sit with the popular kids.
