What's your opinion on the recent social media app "Threads"?

Michael Angelo Go

I have never used Threads before, but it sounds like it's the new Instagram and artists are flocking over there with their followers.

What's your opinion on the app, and are you using it?

Coreyartus

I, personally, don't do Threads at all. The privacy issues are too much for me.

I do think it's interesting that in the face of what's happening to X-Twitter (and our desperate need to find a replacement), the user base for Threads blossomed with more than 70Million+ users, and then apparently decreased significantly thereafter as 2/3 of the users never came back? That's just what I heard.

I feel like more people have "Platform Fatigue" than we care to admit, and I know many many people who are too tired to play another algorithm-game when they've been burnt by too many already.

I'm probably in the minority here, but I can't let myself think of any Social Media platform as a tool for reach anymore. I've had to temper my expectations and redefine why I use it.

For me it was finding Mastodon, and I'm happier there than anywhere else I've tried. I enjoy posting there, and I re-share the work of far more artists than I actually post myself. It doesn't feel like it's about "reach" there, and that's a subtle shift that makes using it feel very different. To me.

Threads could be the one that you magically click with. But in my personal opinion, the days of "big followings" on Big Social that are actually career-making impactful are over.

So I guess you need to ask yourself, why do you want to hop on to another platform? What are your expectations? How is this one going to be different? How are you going to make it different this time?

LauraA

@Michael-Angelo-Go Threads is not yet available in Europe, because of some new-ish privacy laws here.

If I had to say why I would want to use Threads, if it were available to me, it would be that I am looking for something like what Instagram was before ads and reels took over and engagement went down. I don't know if that's even what Threads is, though.

@Coreyartus I signed up for Mastodon, but then when I looked for the people I followed most closely on IG, it seemed like none of them were there. So at present I'm just sort of waiting to see how things settle out.

I wouldn't bother, but it feels like, especially from afar, artists need some way to engage.

Coreyartus

@LauraA
Mastodon's a bit challenging to settle into... It's so different from other platforms in part because most of the normal tools we're used to having aren't there... I will admit that I ended up following a completely different group of people than on the other platforms. I could write a book about why it is the way it is (and I did before I edited this post) but that would be hijacking the thread.

You can follow me on Mastodon if you'd like! My address is in my tagline below this post.

But you also might try Pixelfed. It's the open-source version of Instagram. @Michael-Angelo-Go you might think of that platform, too.

https://pixelfed.org/

It has a free Instagram import tool that will copy all your posts over.

https://www.wired.com/story/migrate-move-instagram-to-pixelfed-no-tracking-fediverse/

I'm there, too: https://pixelfed.social/Coreyartus

Jason Crowley

It's good for engaging with popular artists you follow as they're more likely to respond to any questions you have, whereas on Instagram they tend to be inundated so don't respond to everyone.

Engagement-wise it seems to be the same as Instagram, you have to opt-in to see posts from people you follow rather than the free-for-all + suggested posts feed that Meta seem to favour.

Also, as there are no hashtags there's pretty much no way for people to stumble upon a profile that doesn't already have a large imported following from Instagram.

To sum up, you would need to regularly comment on multiple posts to kind of build a community, but that would take a lot of effort that would likely be better spent working on your art.

I think the days of building a following on social media platforms are long gone, and perhaps that's a good thing. I just hope that agents and art directors don't base their decision to hire an illustrator based on their social media following.

I think as Jake has shown, an email newsletter is the better way to go. The issue is getting people to know you exist, and the only way to do that is to make work, and release a product, that people can't ignore. Easier said than done

kayleenartlover

My problem is Threads is owned by the same people who have Instagram and Facebook. They are trying to monopolize. And they are gonna have the same privacy issues.

ArtMelC

@Michael-Angelo-Go

I like its interface
I don't like feeling like every post I post is like shouting into the void (but it can be said of any other platforms too)
I think it's a me problem. I just feel like giving up on making social media "work". I may use it to contribute to community and fun... but I think I will not try to make it more than that.

jvartandillustration

@Jason-Crowley I don’t think the days of building a following are long gone, necessarily. You just have to play the game the way the algorithm changes are designed. You have to decide whether or not it’s worth it to you to make that change.

If you want to build a following for art consumers, you’ll want to make short, engaging videos, then cross-post to tic tok/reels/shorts, etc.

I think there may also be ways of reaching art directors and other professionals on LinkedIn.

I never used Twitter much before because I’ve never felt like it was a good platform for artists, so I can’t comment on Threads as a platform.

Blitz55

I find the hardest part about any of the newer platforms or alternative platforms is just creating the habit of using it, sticking with it. Instagram was so good at what it did it was easy to just get into it. Facebook hooked many of us after Myspace and nothing has come by to dethrone it. Twitter much the same for many others. It's almost like I've passed this stage of wanting to get into new social media aps and yet the ones I have been most accustom to using are changing so much I'm not sure how into them I am anymore.

Sara Therese Art

@Blitz55 You voiced my thoughts exactly.