Alessandro Paluzzi, a developer who routinely digs into app code to expose unreleased features, tweeted early this morning that Meta’s Twitter clone, Thread, had been released into the Google Play store. It appears as though that was a mistake, however, because the app is nowhere to be found now.
I’m so sick of corporate control over social media. The more I think about it the more absolutely insane it seems to me.
How does it seem insane? Genuinely I’m interested in hearing your thoughts.
The idea of adding a filter between human connection that will distort the message for profit is crazy for a few reasons. Most of all because it simply doesn’t need to happen.
I mean how many of the current worldwide ills are a direct result of algorithms designed to increase engagement through ragebaiting? Disinformation is effective in no small part due to these algorithms making sure you’re made enough to engage and doom scroll. As long as you have a profit motive in these discussions this will be inevitable as far as I can see.
When you imagine a world without Fox/Twitter/Meta/Reddit/Google (not all as culpable of course) force feeding things intent on making you engage (most easily though anger/rage - thanks evolution) it’s hard not to picture a better world. The internet pre-corporate control was a very different place due to a number of factors. I would argue mostly due to a lack of profit motive on social connection.
I’m not big on Twitter (which is why my microblogging side of Kbin is barely used) but I’m not sure I want Facebook to take on an even larger part of social media, and in ActivityPub too.
Someone needs to tell Meta that “Threads” is/was the name of a television series set in a hypothetical, post-nuclear-apocalypse version of 1980s Britain.
Talking about threads, lower-case T, that’s fine. You’re talking about narrow lines of spun fibre, etc. or metaphorically, discussions all connected together as if with the aforementioned lines.
Upper-case T; different matter. You’re evoking a dystopian nightmare that reduces humanity to educationally subnormal homunculi with no prospects, no future and various unalive things I’d use a spoiler tag and trigger warning for if I knew how to do that.
Upper-case T; different matter. You’re evoking a dystopian nightmare that reduces humanity to educationally subnormal homunculi with no prospects, no future and various unalive things I’d use a spoiler tag and trigger warning for if I knew how to do that.
So what? You’re just describing what Zuck has been working towards since he started that shit at college.
My wording may not have been unintentional.
I could see this actually catching on if twitter keeps going down this path of self-destruction. Mostly because people who wish for the more “official” and “corporate” style announcements all in one place will want an alternative that actually works and respects its users. Facebook has that too but… it’s facebook. It has your real name and info. Your parents and grandparents are on there. And the UI and feel is very different. But a twitter clone by meta/big tech that connects with instagram (celebrities/politicians/companies/etc, are all already on there) would be a much smoother transition.
I’ve heard it’s going to be connected with ActivityPub. I look forward to it, if people I know who are mostly Meta users move over.
I’m worried Meta is going to kill the Fediverse.
They’re going to try at the very least, I’m quite certain of it.
I understand your fear. I don’t share it, because I miss the community and friends I’ve lost I don’t think they will kill the Fediverse any more than federation will kill Meta. I think many of us will venture to Threads, but still will be be in both places.
For Facebook being Facebook, I can’t help but think how will they screw up “Threads.” Instagram has become a junk platform and WhatsApp has declined as well. Meta or Facebook will try to monetize Threads or ActivityPub with their own take. I can’t believe anything decent let alone good will come from this.
Fediverse user: “Grandma??”
Threads user: “Oh my…that’s quite an interesting…unicorn suit, Ralph…”
Actually yeah, if Activity Pub gets account migration working it may finally be a way out to my relatives still stuck on Facebook.
But do we really trust meta to honor such mechanic? We need to be wary of them embracing in order to take over.
