What is Threading?

Written by: Chigozie Paul

Social media has been around for a while now. The first social media platform to ever exist was Sixdegree.com in 1997. Since then, many social media platforms have been birthed despite the various arguments raised overtime against the use of social media. This is likely because, despite the cons, social media has been a handy tool, especially in communication and brand marketing.

On July 5th, 2023, Meta unveiled their new social media platform, Thread, a social media app that allows users to create and join long-form discussions on various topics, just like on Reddit or Quora.

The app, which is similar to Twitter, was unveiled as part of Meta’s vision to create a more meaningful and engaging online community, in contrast to the short and superficial interactions that dominate other platforms.

You are probably wondering, by now, “another social media platform? What’s so different about Threads, and why should I be on it?” Well, here are some fantastic features of Thread that make it stand out.

On Threads, you can:

- Converse or create threads with different formats, such as text, audio, video, or live chat. Posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes.

- Invite experts, celebrities, or influencers to join or moderate a thread to give life and credibility to a conversation.

- Easily share content from Threads to other social media platforms owned by Meta, like Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, etc., because of the integration of Threads with other Meta products.

- Easily carry over data from Instagram. If you are already on Instagram, getting started with Threads is easy. All you have to do is use your Instagram account to log in to Thread. You can carry over your Instagram username and decide which of your followers to crossover to Thread. If you were verified on Instagram, you don’t have to start from scratch on Threads, as you can carry over your verification.

It is important to note that Threads is somewhat safe for minors as everyone under 16 (or under 18 in certain countries) will be defaulted into a private profile when they join Threads. Cool right? However, like every other social media platform, Thread also has some cons:

- The lack of privacy and data protection, as Meta collects and analyzes user data for advertising and other purposes.

- The risk of misinformation, manipulation, and polarization, as some threads may contain false or biased information or opinions that influence user perception and decision-making.

- Deleting your threads account, deletes your Instagram account.

Despite these disadvantages, Thread is a fantastic social media app for long-form discussions on various topics. That said, follow us on Threads at Tech4Dev.

If you enjoyed this article, remember to clap and share it with others.