Podcast: Thoughts re the Threads rollout. And respect for Elon Musk in a limited way, reminds me of Philippe Kahn. 20 minutes. #
Twitter isn't going away. What we should hope for is they start adding stuff to Twitter that users really like. And that'll force Facebook to do it too. As a result technology moves forward. One-party systems stagnate as we've seen.#
The discussion about Threads is happening on Twitter. In a sense nothing has happened until links to Threads posts show up here. It's an almost zero-interop system at this point.#
Actually you can embed posts in HTML pages (example), but that's about it. You can't even link to individual posts or threads. Or if you can, I haven't seen any. You can also link to individual posts, example. #
Chip Bayers, my editor in the good old days at Wired, says they shipped too soon. I've said the same. #
One thing they reallllly need is a browser interface, so it can exist on the same plane as the other social nets. I can't paste links back and forth between their network and others. even at that primitive level of interop, it doesn't exist. #
On Twitter I'm able to write fluidly esp now that the character limit is just a speed bump. I've never felt in any way like writing on a phone was writing. #
The big picture is no one gets that these tools are writing environments. so they design them to have features writers can use. #
Earlier, I started to write about how boring, sad, depressing and unnecessary Threads is. How pathetic Zuck is. How I visualize the process that led to this product as being a combination of the TV series Succession and Silicon Valley. Facebook is desperately trying to become anything but Facebook. I like Facebook as a community. I have friends there who I would never talk with if it weren't for Facebook. I hope they keep running it. But I wish the company behind it would stop demanding attention because they are so completely unattractive. And btw, I can't get into writing on an iPhone. I write at a desk, or maybe occasionally a tablet. Everything about this product pushes me away. Maybe that'll change, maybe the people who are trying to get ahead on Threads will think up some new use for social networks that will justify using it. #
All I want is a playground with an open API and enough creative users to try out new ideas from developers.#
I want to go back to the pace of innovation we had going in the 90s and 00s. The big platforms snuffed all that out, corralled it and kept it in some too-restrictive bounds. Did what BillG failed to, locked us in the trunk and cut off the air supply. #
That some of these people were the most fervent advocates for open platforms says that maybe those beliefs ran pretty thin, and the opportunity to cash it out for billions made it worthwhile.#
Maybe we'll just be hobbyists. I'm okay with that. Or maybe people are will to pay good money to sustain creative development.#
I don't expect that to be possible on Facebook's new network. #
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