David Gerard

"I decided not to follow anyone. And so, for the last couple days, I have only been seeing the raw machinery of Threads. Its algorithm is just blasting me with random posts and, every so often, it tries to show me more of a particular user I click on or spend too long reading in the feed.

"My verdict: Threads sucks shit. It has no purpose. It is for no one. It launched as a content graveyard and will assuredly only become more of one over time."

https://www.garbageday.email/p/the-algorithmic-anti-culture-of-scale

The algorithmic anti-culture of scale

Here's what 24 hours inside of Threads has been like

Garbage Day
Jul 7, 2023 at 8:40pmWeb
Show threadDennis JernbergJul 7, 2023
@davidgerard Actually, it has one purpose we can all agree on: killing Twitter. After Zuck finally pees on Twitter's grave, he might as well fold it back into Instagram.
Show threadDeterioratedStuccoJul 7, 2023
@davidgerard
Suggests it's intended only to destroy Twitter.
Show threadDave O’NeillJul 7, 2023

@davidgerard

I am going to disagree. I think it does what Musk wanted from Twitter. It’s a text version of Instagram aimed at the influencers and brands. It looks like it’s hitting that demo fairly well and they might be onto a winner.

Whether it goes beyond that is a different question. I don’t get the point of Instagram but apparently 2bn other people do so what do I know?

Show threadDavid GerardJul 7, 2023
@daveon what Musk wanted from Twitter was not to be forced to buy it. This is the fact we absolutely know about his plans for twitter. All else I've seen is surmise that ignores this fact.
Show threadDave O’NeillJul 7, 2023

@davidgerard well ok that TOO :)

But before he stupidly talked about buying it he would lament about why none of the big influencer accounts were doing anything on Twitter. He really seems to have thought that was the opportunity there. And he might be right; just not for Twitter.

Show thread✨buff dog himbo✨Jul 9, 2023
@daveon @davidgerard a lot of Instagram pple (like me) are largely there because they were there before the Facebook Inc buyout. Instagram used to be a fun place to find & share interesting visual content. After Facebook bought it, it was just a downhill spiral of shitty feature rollouts, throttling of content visibility, shadowbanning & promoting hate speech (just like Facebook). There's still ways to use Instagram & find cool stuff but it's a shell of it's former glory for sure.
Show threadDave O’NeillJul 9, 2023
@itsmeholland @davidgerard I never worked it out. Or rather I never had the inclination to?
Show thread✨buff dog himbo✨Jul 9, 2023
@daveon @davidgerard i mean its pretty hard to sell Instagram to folks who aren't already pretty involved because it just sucks now lol 🤣
Show threadDarwin WoodkaJul 7, 2023

@davidgerard

"And for the last decade, we have basically had these two digital spheres — Facebook’s relatively safe algorithmic walled garden or the sociopolitical Hunger Games of Twitter. Except, Twitter would be the one to go on to gain such jaw-dropping levels of cultural importance that an entire presidency was run on it. Meanwhile, Facebook grew both in users and affiliated apps, but retreated up the asshole of its own algorithm. "

Show threadSteve WilliamsJul 7, 2023
@davidgerard great article. Hilarious.
Show threadOnceoday 🩺🕊🏕Jul 7, 2023
@davidgerard Thanks for the warning. I was briefly tempted (I have an Instagram account) but haven't taken the bait.
After learning a bit more, I think I won't.
Show threadkkellerJul 7, 2023

@davidgerard I don't disagree that Threads is likely to suck shit.

However, I am not sure that conclusion follows just because it sucks when you don't follow anyone. Mastodon sucks if you don't follow anyone and just watch the Federated feed. Sure, there's no algorithm, but it still sucks, because you're still swamped with random content 99% of which you don't care about.

* caveat: Mastodon might not suck if your server's local feed is very specific

Show threadDavid GerardJul 8, 2023
@kkeller it has the important advantage that it will be written by probably reasonable people and not be brand advertising
Show threadkkellerJul 9, 2023

@davidgerard : @ernie had a compelling piece about brand protection, why it sucks, and why Mastodon is better despite being janky:

https://writing.exchange/@ernie/110679757220877938

Ernie Smith (@[email protected])

Over at @[email protected], I have a take on Threads, Mastodon, internet culture, and UX. Key point: Learn to live with a grimy internet with slightly janky UX, because odds are it is the internet we actually want. https://tedium.co/2023/07/08/threads-social-media-brand-safety/

Writing Exchange
Show threadwirepairJul 7, 2023
@davidgerard "It feels like a 90s-themed office party organized by a human resources department." lol that is a brilliantly amazing take, love it.
Show threadSteve Dinn 🇨🇦Jul 7, 2023
@davidgerard The author is probably fine following nobody. I followed all kinds of people during the on-boarding process but I can't even tell.
Show threadYozozoJul 7, 2023
@davidgerard be careful when using their official app. The amount of data collected is enormous.
Use a browser if you're really interested to check the app out.
Show threadwaltGrJul 8, 2023
@yozozo @davidgerard I was under the impression that Threads was app-only? Pulling up threads.net doesn't show anything and they don't support ActivityPub ATM
Show threadDavid GerardJul 8, 2023
@waltGr @yozozo yeah, no website yet and no activitypub
Show threadchicatingJul 7, 2023
@davidgerard sounds boring. (I couldn't use it anyway...smartphones being an accessibility challenge for me. ) But it's weird how many people think about this without thinking about how people really act and what we really like.
Show threadDVHenkelWallaceJul 8, 2023

@davidgerard it does seem pretty terrible at the moment but they are presumably modifying it every day — building the plane as they fly it.

Doesn’t mean they will get it right (whatever that would mean), but in the apocryphal words of Zhou Enlai, “too soon to tell”.

Show threadDavid GerardJul 8, 2023

@DVHenkelWallace i don't grant tech companies that sort of hypothetical any more. If it sucks, it sucks and there's no reason to fantasise a world where it doesn't.

In particular, the problems are consistent with the company's past behaviour and its stated intentions for Threads. This isn't a beta software bug.

Show threadmuzJul 8, 2023
@davidgerard you consider doing the same with home feed no followers on mastodon?
Show threadDavid GerardJul 8, 2023
@Muzza haven't tried it, but would it be the default #explore feed you get when you're not logged into an instance? in which case it's probably actual people just posting stuff like normal people
Show threadHFMJul 8, 2023
@davidgerard lol, good review 🤠
Show threadDan KennedyJul 8, 2023
@davidgerard @steve But you said you decided not to follow anyone. I’ve followed a bunch of people I know on Threads, and the experience so far is … not bad. Of course I’d like to see a non-algorithmic feed limited to accounts I follow.
Show threadMike McCaffreyJul 8, 2023
@davidgerard @joshbuchea I'm not sure why it is so hard to understand that if you follow a bunch of people Threads will show you posts from just those people, but if you aren't following anyone it fills your feed with a bunch of randos.
Show threadDavid GerardJul 8, 2023
@mikemccaffrey @joshbuchea in others' tests, it appears to fill your feed with randos as well
Show threadPatSJul 9, 2023
@davidgerard I have followed a bunch of folks (600+) on Threads, and they are the ones that I see in my feed. A lot remains to be seen, but so far, I have found it to be a refreshing and interesting alternative to Twitter.