Threads just took another step toward making its mark in the fediverse, and it's one that Meta’s top brass is quite excited about. Today, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Threads users can now follow people from other fediverse servers if those individuals have interacted with federated profiles on Threads.
Adam Mosseri elaborated on this, pointing out how users can see posts from these fediverse profiles by navigating to their profiles and even enable notifications for new posts. While features like an ActivityPub-powered feed are still on the horizon, the groundwork is clearly being laid. Peter Cottle, a Threads engineer, shared his enthusiasm with a detailed post, calling it a "Fediverse Holiday Miracle."
He emphasized how this update echoes the open-web spirit of RSS feeds, where a universal protocol allowed seamless content sharing. The idea of a decentralized ActivityPub-based future where you can subscribe to websites, publishers, or personal blogs seems like a nostalgic yet fresh concept. Other upgrades include linkified Fediverse usernames in posts and push notifications for new content from Fediverse users.
Threads has had quite a journey since its record-breaking launch in 2023, gathering one million users within its first hour. While it’s growing rapidly, Threads still faces tough competition from X (formerly Twitter), which boasts longer user engagement times, and Bluesky, the smaller but increasingly influential underdog. Bluesky, with its 23 million users, has been gaining momentum with features like ad-free browsing and custom feeds, challenging Threads' dominance by appealing to users nostalgic for a simpler, more transparent social media experience.
Interestingly, Threads’ stance on political content has also helped define its identity—while Bluesky allows for a freer flow of ideas, Threads enforces stricter moderation to avoid polarizing debates, a choice that aligns with Meta’s broader approach to platform safety and user experience. This decision has been polarizing in itself, with some users appreciating the guardrails while others feel it stifles open dialogue.
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