David Bridges
The ongoing competition between Threads and Bluesky indicates that the former is feeling the pressure from the latter’s recent growth, prompting Meta’s platform to adopt yet another feature from Bluesky: the innovative “Starter Packs.”
On the Bluesky platform, “Starter Packs” are thoughtfully curated lists of users based on specific topics, designed to facilitate an easier onboarding experience for newcomers and help them discover relevant content to enrich their feeds.
Threads may not officially label its adaptation as “Starter Packs,” but the essence remains the same, providing users with a streamlined method to enhance their social experience.
Illustrating this point, the new iteration of Threads’ custom lists will appear for new users, prominently featured in their “For You” feed, showcasing curated recommendations assembled by existing Threads users for enhanced engagement and content discovery.
As Threads has articulated:
“Starting this week, you may see occasional suggestions to follow multiple profiles from custom feeds curated by a few members of the Threads community in the U.S. We’re testing this experience with a small number of threaders to start, but everyone on Threads in the U.S. will be able to see and follow the profiles included in these collections.”
This feature closely resembles what Twitter users know as “Lists,” which simplifies the process of discovering and following users based on shared interests or topics, significantly enhancing the user experience right from the start.
With Threads now allowing certain users to set their default feed to “Following,” mirroring a feature from Bluesky, the importance of strategically following profiles has escalated. This shift reduces reliance on algorithm-driven content from the “For You” feed, thereby fostering a more personalized experience.
Implementing custom lists makes perfect sense for Threads, especially since it has introduced the functionality to swipe between alternative, personalized feeds directly from the main user interface, greatly enhancing accessibility and usability for its users.
While there is undeniable practical value in these features, it is intriguing to observe how Threads appears to be reacting to Bluesky’s recent popularity, adopting many of its characteristics in an effort to mitigate any competitive advantage that might emerge.
This approach is not new for Meta, which has a history of mirroring successful features from rival platforms. For instance, the introduction of Snapchat’s Stories feature on Instagram effectively stunted Snapchat’s growth, while the integration of TikTok-style Reels has reportedly hindered TikTok’s expansion, especially among an older demographic.
Despite Bluesky’s recent growth spurt, it is important to note that it currently boasts just 24 million users, a stark contrast to the 275 million active users on Threads, highlighting the significant market share that Threads commands.
Threads appears to be minimizing Bluesky’s opportunity to establish itself as a formidable competitor by rapidly replicating its features. In striving to dominate the real-time social media landscape, Meta seems intent on neutralizing any potential threats, even if Bluesky might face its own challenges in scaling effectively.
By integrating nearly all of Bluesky’s functionalities into Threads, Meta seems poised to stifle Bluesky’s growth trajectory significantly.
However, a compelling aspect of Bluesky that attracts its core users is its approach to links and discussions; unlike Threads, Bluesky does not penalize link-sharing and promotes open discussions on various topics. Threads has been known to restrict link posts and limit political discourse, which could hinder its appeal to users who value such freedoms.
If Threads were to adapt these features, it would mark a significant move toward undermining Bluesky’s growth potential and positioning itself as the more versatile platform for users.
Troy Sanders
Clara Hastings
