Adam Mosseri wants Threads to be the “de facto platform for public conversations online” and says the web app is not a “primary focus” as mobile usage is higher
I dunno, maybe new things that are happening in their lives. In some concrete format. Wait, would that be... the news?!?! [embedded post] X: Omar Sultan / @omarsultan : @verge So, kinda like a town square...? @t0nin1 : @verge Maybe abide by EU rules then so that it can be used over here @methodistguy : @verge They're way far from that LinkedIn: Pernille Tranberg : Thnaks but NO. We don't want another Meta owned social network. You are abusing data! We have Mastodon and LinkedIn.
The VergeJay Peters
Context & Ripple Effects
Threads entered the market as a text-based service tied to Instagram accounts and existing follows through its Instagram-linked launch, giving Meta an unusually direct distribution path for a new conversation product.
Mosseri had characterized building a standalone Threads app as a risky undertaking in an early account of the service's origins. This statement clarifies the intended destination: a broad public-discussion venue, with mobile rather than the web as the near-term product center.
First-order effects
Threads' product priorities tilt toward mobile usage, making the web experience a secondary surface rather than a coequal way to participate.
Meta publicly positions Threads against services used for open, real-time discussion, raising the strategic importance of feed quality, participation, and conversation discovery inside the app.
Second-order effects
A mobile-first posture favors Meta's existing Instagram-connected audience and app distribution, while leaving web-oriented users with less reason to make Threads a primary destination.
The ambition makes recommendation quality a central operating issue: later coverage of Threads' low-quality recommendation problems illustrates how weak discovery can undermine a public-conversation strategy.
Third-order effects
If large social platforms increasingly define public conversation through app-native feeds, the competitive battleground shifts from publishing interfaces to algorithmic distribution, identity, and trust.
The model may deepen the split between centrally managed social networks and alternatives such as Mastodon: each offers a different trade-off between reach, governance, and control over the conversation surface.
The trend: Threads is one instance of the broader contest to own the mobile, algorithmically curated surface where public online discussion is discovered and distributed.
I'm pretty impressed so far with Threads as a place to read a lot of high quality information, less impressed with it as a place to just shoot the shit and have fun
Earlier today, we put the new polls feature to the test to see whether they're accessible for screen reader users. As you can tell from our video, the short answer is no. @mosseri, @zuck and the entire @threads team, why won't you put accessibility first? New features might be …
The only reason the For You tab feels surprisingly well-curated is because Threads is pulling content from the Following tab to show in the For You tab, and then imposing the For You as a default. I wrote a whole thread about the former effect that includes screenshots demonstra…
3/ Even if the data did support such thinking, the framing still leaves much to be desired. The logic implied by this clip is akin to saying that, because filters and stickers are only used by a small % of all Instagram users, the feedback of IG Creators notwithstanding, further…
Chronological would help but I still haven't found enough people to follow here that would make the tab my go to. The For You tan is surprisingly well curated in my case.
2/ Many of us have been patiently waiting for an action real-time chronological feed. We understand that it takes time to fully deliver on that, but these comments give me pause. It sends the message that, by being patient, we're generating data that product executives are usin…
Companies like Meta (and previously Twitter) have public affairs liaisons that actively work with govt officials to ensure they have what they need to be on a platform. That includes verification and preventing impersonation, but also includes listening to their needs. …
@mosseri Does your team have a strategy to encourage govt. agencies, elected officials, public services to this platform? Mayors, city councillors, police and fire departments post on X as an official comms outlet. …
🧵/ Comments re: Following tab in this clip feel dismissive in the same way comments re: news have felt dismissive. The implied logic, here: small % of people use Following tab, ergo the development effort hasn't been impactful. …
Good web app is crucial, Tweetdeck is basically the only way I use @twitter. People who post composited threads are also more likely on desktop than on mobile.
but that minority who use the web app might actually post more content than others (journalists). if web has better feature parity, it'll get way more usage. also, i still see questions of people who don't know Threads on web exists! see screenshot
And what are those public conversations gonna be about? — I dunno, maybe new things that are happening in their lives. In some concrete format. Wait, would that be... the news?!?! [embedded post]