It’s been a few weeks since Threads launched. I’ve been monkeying around with it (you can connect with me @tim___dolan, but keep your expectations low). While it has a similar feature set to Twitter, it feels different. Platforms are driven by the behaviour of users, and it still has that clean ‘new platform’-smell. As someone who loved the early days of online forums, this post captures my feelings about Threads and how people use social media in general: “This behavior says something about how we view social media now. It’s not for connection, but performance.” Even the head of Threads shares that the platform is more about creators than community.
One of the early criticisms of Threads is that it defaults to an algorithmically driven timeline that features content from those you don’t follow. A chronological timeline view is apparently coming, and in the meantime you can go deep into your settings and change your Threads feed to accounts you actually follow. As a fan of 2X2 diagrams and Ben Thompson, this is a fantastic read on how social platforms are evolving and the future of Threads vs. Twitter.
While there are no ads on Threads yet, there are steps brands can take to start establishing a presence and understanding of the emerging nature of the platform. Threads is expected to roll out branded content tools soon to help marketers break through.
Fresh Decks
2023 Digital Media Trends (Deloitte): Highlights how younger generations find community and immersion in playing video games. Consistent with data sampled from the Dolan household.
State of the Global Workplace (Gallop): Annual report on how people feel at work, with interesting data on remote working. The report states “After dropping in 2020 during the pandemic, employee engagement is on the rise again, reaching a record-high 23%.” Doesn’t that seem depressingly low?
AI & Search Generative Experiences (Jellyfish): Useful overview of how generative AI might impact paid search campaigns. Google advertisers will soon be able to create ad campaigns and assets with AI-driven chat, directly within the Google Ads interface.
Cool Beans
Calendly vs. Google: Gmail is launching a feature that allows users to share calendar availability. I love this feature, even if I’m not totally over the awkwardness of asking a client to book a meeting with me.
A.I. vs. Human Roast Battle: While AI might eventually wipe out humanity, I’m 100% in on this comedy troupe using generative AI for jokes and roast battles. Seinfeld-AI is gold Jerry, gold!
Ok Boomer Phone Etiquette: If you want to avoid being ridiculed by Gen Z, make sure you don’t scroll your phone with your index finger or use thumbs-up emojis (which literally make up 80% of my texts).
Smart Reads
Demographics are Horseshit: Speaking of Gen Z, Mark Ritson provides a smart and profanity-laced explanation why marketers should rely on age as the dominant way to segment customers.
AI and the Automation of Work: Useful long-term perspective from Ben Evans on how automation hasn’t historically replaced use from jobs as much as helped to move “up the scale of human capability”.
Propelling Questions at Cannes: One concept in the great book A Beautiful Constraint is the ‘propelling question’ - how to use constraints to find a creative solution. The writers illustrate how this concept comes to life in recent campaigns from Cannes.