Threads had an explosive launch, but from the product perspective, it’s just uninspiring. Threads, Bluesky, Masterdon, and Twitter itself – these are all largely undifferentiated products. In fact, most social networks have the same features (feed, follow, etc.) and are controlled by a few (seemingly sometimes fickle and unstable) billionaires.
Human social interactions are intricate, multi-faceted, and complex; how come the tools that enable those complex social interactions are all same and universal?
What happened to good old blogging? Or, interest graph based services like (civilized) forums back in the day? (i.e. Reddit that doesn’t suck?) What tools do we have today that allow users to engage anonymously (alleviating the pressure of content creation and helping honest speaking) yet also sympathetically (ie. users not immediately devolving into vitriols-infused a*holes behind anonymity)?
It’s time for more smart entrepreneurs to start new and differentiated social media services and VCs to back those founders. We all seem to think the consumer social game is over, and occasional small successes (like BeReal or even Clubhouse) are acquisition plays at best – a stigma that creates a vicious cycle. But the world needs better social services, and with the rise of AI, this might be the right timing.