Chris Hannah:

The main rumour was that this new app would support ActivityPub, which is an open protocol that Mastodon is based on. This has led to all sorts of reactions. From people completely opposed to anything from Meta connecting to the Fediverse, and wanting to block it from their instance. To people that are excited about the potential of the new users that it would bring to the degenerated social network world.

I’d say I’m somewhere near the more optimistic end. Because, there is clearly space in the market for a new short-form text-based social network, and if it’s backed by Instagram, then it stands a good chance of surviving. Or at least gaining enough attention to make it viable in the short term.

If Threads supports ActivityPub, as the rumors suggest, it’ll be the coolest product announcement in the history of Meta.

It also has the potential to push the mainstream toward a future of social networking that I’ve had in the back of my mind for over a decade. A future where each person can pick and choose the types of services they want to use — video, photos, short-form text, longer articles, and others — and everything connects together because of a common, interoperable, and open protocol.

➝ Source: chrishannah.me