Since Meta’s new Twitter clone Threads went online nearly two weeks ago, it has mostly delivered on the promise that came with it. Threads looks and feels a lot like Twitter without the caustic rhetoric (so far). There’s a kind of congenial feel as people dip their feet into a new social media pool while remaining wary of the Metaverse and its ultimate intentions.
It also had the massive benefit of allowing users to leverage their own massive lists of followers making Threads feel like Twitter did years after it went online initially. It’s that built in audience that almost immediately eclipsed other apps like Bluesky and Mastodon. It was also that characteristic that made it instantly a threat to Elon Musk’s increasingly divisive Twitter.
But there is still a ways to go, something Threads has acknowledged. If we were among those making the decisions on what features to unleash next, we would prioritize things that makes Threads even more like Twitter because, for all the hate surrounding the massive social media entity, Twitter remains king in that domain for now. Here are four changes we think would make joining Threads even more desirable, and perhaps even worthy of quitting Twitter altogether.
Post Order
If there is one disorienting thing about the Threads timeline, it is the general organization of the feed. Yes, you can alter it so it shows people on your list first, but it still has the annoying Instagram display showing posts via algorithm with no way to sort via chronological order. One of the best things about Twitter is the ability to watch things play out in real time: sports, weather events, world news. In some instances — disasters, for instance — it’s absolutely critical.
Because Threads serves things up in an order based on their algorithm, you could be reading one post added seconds ago followed by another posted two days earlier. Fortunately, the Threads folks say this is high on their list and it better be. It is likely the single most requested feature by new users, who are already impatient.
Hashtags
Next up is hashtags, that brilliant invention that allows grouping of items through the simple addition of a pound sign to the beginning of a word. It gives users a way to quickly sort through important news or search out items of interest. So far, hashtags have not been on the menu for Threads, but there is good reason to believe they will be soon. They are usable on Instagram, so it makes logical sense with Threads being an extension of that Meta-based app, that hashtags are coming soon.
Trending Topics
Like it or not, what trends on Twitter is often what is important in the news, be it local, national or worldwide. Plenty of times, we will search the topics to see what is going on and learn of things we’d never even heard of before. It also is a way to spotlight important events and news stories simply and easily.
Trending Topics are a part of most social media feeds in one form or another, but Instagram prefers their algorithm via search as a means of sending you what it believes you will like. The problem is that it leaves you in whatever rabbit hole you’ve already been down, a virtual echo chamber of the same stuff, whereas Twitter shows you what other people are looking for and talking about. It’s a critical component of Twitter and one Threads would do well to adopt.
Lists
The list function of Twitter is one of the handiest features the social media app offers. Unfortunately, it greatly degraded the ability to use them when it blocked third-party apps from its API. Lists allow users to group search items, hashtags or other users into groups they can publish or keep private. A good example would be sports media members from your favorite sport or political analysts in election years.
It also makes it easy to filter out the noise of a bloated timeline if you choose to follow thousands of people. As fun as doomscrolling may be, there are times when lists provide a break from that and help you drill down on a specific topic.
No word yet on if Threads will adopt that function, but as it grows in size, it would certainly help users to get to the content they want, not just what they are fed by an algorithm.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
