Meta Is Working On A ‘Sanely Run’ Twitter Clone

We’re living in an age when making a personal diss against someone, whether it’s in person or online, is perfectly acceptable.

You might even say it’s EncouragementThe recent comments made on social media about Mike Pence’s running for president are telling.

It’s not even out of the realm of possibility for someone at a large company like Meta to diss a certain mega-billionaire named Elon Musk, even if it was not a direct jab.

In case you haven’t heard the news, Meta is preparing a Twitter clone to launch soon, possibly called Threads. The Chief Product Officer at Meta, Chris Cox, gave a company presentation recently and dropped a zinger that was obviously meant for Musk: “We’ve been hearing from creators and public figures who are interested in having a platform that is sanely run, that they believe that they can trust and rely upon for distribution,” he said.

First off, that’s quite a bold statement from someone connected to Facebook and Instagram, even if he likely didn’t intend for anyone outside of that meeting to hear it. Social media is not synonymous with sanity, reliability and trust. Most often, we hear terms like misinformation and trolls.

Second, I’m shocked anyone would be talking about a Twitter clone. I’ve mentioned this many times, but I do prefer the micro-messaging features of Twitter because they match my tastes. My posts are short and punchy. However, I am not attracted to the apps that emphasize videos and pictures like TikTok.

To me, making a Twitter clone that focuses more on text and links is similar to coming up with a brand new gasoline engine — at a time when the entire auto industry is pushing electric cars. It’s hard to understand why Instagram decided to make a Twitter copy. One possible reason, other than wanting to run a “sane” platform, is that there are more holdouts like me who prefer a text-based social media service.

We’re here, and we’re waiting. I like Instagram as much as anyone else, but my problem is simple: I don’t always have a creative image or graphic to share. Usually, what I want to share is a link to an article, and I prefer text exchanges with other users — when they are civil. Twitter has taught me a lot from the comments of other users. I like how easy it is to scan through the comments on an Elon Musk post — it’s quite a goldmine of insight (at times).

Another pressing question is how Threads (if that’s what Meta calls it) will differentiate itself. The app connects directly to your Instagram account, allowing you to transfer your followers. Instagram released a direct message app in 2019, called Threads, which was then discontinued in 2021.

Somewhere along the line, I feel like Meta didn’t quite get the memo that Twitter has fallen out of favor and that text-based micro-blogging is probably going to go belly-up sometime soon. It’s very difficult to monetize platforms like this, as Elon Musk learned the hard way. It’s also hard to keep users connected to something that is purely meant as a text-based platform.

It is my hope that Meta will figure it out. Threads are a great way for us to share and connect. It’s possible I am the first person to join.