Yesterday, I took the Threads app off my phone. I’d started to think that maybe three different apps for text-based social media (Mastodon, Threads, and Bluesky) were too many, but really, it’s just that Threads kind of sucks, and I was tired of wasting my time on it.
Here’s how I’d classify the three as they stand right now:
Threads
Mostly shows me posts from people I don’t know or care about, and is full of engagement bait and MAGA trolls. It’s like Instagram Reels as text-based social media. You either like that or you don’t. I think the algorithmic timeline makes it really easy for trolls to find people to start fights with.
Mastodon
Mastodon is great for me since I only use it through Ivory, and a lot of my friends are there. The problem with Mastodon is that it has terrible discovery, and while it’s full of a bunch of my tech friends, there aren’t a lot of people on it who aren’t tech-enthusiasts. I’d like both, ideally.
Bluesky
It feels the most like Twitter minus the features I don’t care about and without the trolls. I’m sure they’ll show up — like they do everywhere — but without the algorithmic timeline Threads has, I might not be as personally exposed. A lot of people I know are moving to Bluesky, and I’m also connecting with non-tech people. Another big thing is that it doesn’t feel as cut off as Mastodon sometimes does. I never considered it a positive sign that when breaking news happens, you usually find out about it on Mastodon via people posting screenshots from Twitter.
Since it doesn’t seem like 100% of the people I care about will ever be on one or the other, I’m sticking with Mastodon and Bluesky for the foreseeable future.
Collin Donnell 