Here is what we know about it so far:

  • It will most likely be called Threads.
  • It is not known what domain it will use for usernames.
  • In mockup screenshots, a user replies to someone using an @mastodon.social handle, it’s very likely that they will federate.
  • It will be side app of Instagram. It’s not clear how much of the new network will be baked into the main app.
  • Your username and verification status will carry over, so early adopters won’t have an advantage for their preferred username.
  • Your followers will not carry over but there will be an easy way to pick and follow people on your Instagram list.

Personal observations:

  • Many people that I talked to about it think that this will be Meta’s attempt at an “EEE”.
  • Some Mastodon instance admins that I chatted about it say that Meta will “likely attempt to pull their user data”, and they “will defederate immediately”.
  • I don’t use their products, so I won’t be joining in, but I am cautiously interested about their ActivityPub functionality.
    Hopefully they’ll work with W3C with the standard (instead of building own extensions) and perhaps even open source some of their tools. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but one can hope.

    Also - if all 1.2bn MAU’s from Insta are suddenly “fedi-enabled” maybe I’ll be able to follow some of the things that haven’t transitioned over the fediverse (chess players, Formula 1, NHL etc). Would be awfully nice.