TL;DR
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Mark Zuckerberg has a problem…and he’s using a tactic right out of the Web3 playbook to solve it. (ICYMI: Meta just launched its very own Twitter competitor called ‘Threads.’).
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The problem is…Meta kinda sucks at creating standalone social platform clones. Meta has tried and failed to create standalone clones of Snap, Substack, Pinterest, and TikTok.
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The big sticking point with all of these clones was in their (lack of) network effects. I.e. They offered the same experience as their competitors, but were total ghost towns.
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To solve the ‘ghost town problem’ with Threads, he’s taking one of Web3 social’s best features and adding it to the platform.
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That feature is: your friends come with you, across platforms (from Instagram to Threads).
Full Story
Mark Zuckerberg has a problem…and he’s using a tactic right out of the Web3 playbook to solve it.
ICYMI: Meta (formerly Facebook) just launched its very own Twitter competitor called ‘Threads.’
The problem is…
Meta kinda sucks at creating standalone social platform clones.
Do you remember:
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Slingshot?
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Bulletin?
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Hobbi?
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Lasso?
No? Neither! But they were (in descending order) Meta made/owned/failed clones of: Snapchat, Substack, Pinterest, and TikTok.
Hell, they even launched and closed an app called ‘Threads,’ back in 2019 (which was originally designed to be another Snapchat competitor).
The big sticking point with all of these clones was in their (lack of) network effects.
I.e. Zuck’s cloned platforms offered the same experience as their competitors, but were total ghost towns.
(Which meant there was no clear incentive for users to make the jump).
So what’s the workaround?
In the past, it’s been to add the clone’s main feature to Instagram – think: Stories (Snapchat) and Reels (TikTok).
But IG feels like its at its breaking point as far as feature stuffing goes…and it appears Zuck knows it.
To solve the ‘ghost town problem’ with Threads, he’s taking one of Web3 social’s best features and adding it to the platform.
That feature is: your friends come with you, across platforms.
All of your Instagram followers that create a Threads account, are automatically added as followers on your Threads account.
Which means, right out of the gate the ‘ghost town problem’ is quickly being solved. It’s smart!
…whether it’s going to work long term? That’s yet to be seen.
