What Is Threads? An Attorney’s Guide to the Newest Social Media Platform
Recently, the internet welcomed a new social media platform: Threads. Threads was launched by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. It is similar to Twitter, and many are already viewing it as a promising competitor.
But what exactly is Threads? Would this new platform make a good home for your law firm? Here’s what attorneys need to know about Threads.
What Is Threads?
Threads is being promoted as a digital space where users can engage in real-time public dialogues. But to truly understand Threads, we have to start with Twitter. Ever since Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, a number of users have been dissatisfied with the new direction of the social media giant. Now, Meta has designed Threads as an alternative.
Threads has some striking similarities to Twitter, but a few key differences, as well. Meta is clearly hoping that these differences will make Threads a worthy competitor to the original model.
So far, Threads has amassed an estimated 110 million accounts. This includes businesses and brands in a wide variety of industries—including the legal niche. Well-known law firms such as DLA Piper, White & Case, and Cooley have joined the platform. The same is true for renowned legal publications such as JD Supra, Law.com, American Bar Association, Above the Law, and LexBlog.
So—is Threads ready to join the ranks of the best social media platforms for attorneys? To answer that question, let’s look at a few of the features that define Threads.
Threads Features
Threads is still in its infancy. If it lasts, we can expect the platform to evolve and incorporate new features. For now, it’s hard not to see it as a clone of Twitter, albeit with a few tweaks. However, there are some noteworthy features, such as:
- Posts can contain up to 500 characters.
- Videos can extend up to five minutes.
- Users have more control over their mentions and replies, helping to facilitate more constructive conversations.
- Safety is prioritized, with the same community guidelines that Meta uses for Instagram.
- Instagram users can create a Threads profile using their Instagram data, making the transition as seamless as possible.
- New users automatically inherit their Instagram followers on Threads.
On the other hand, there are some aspects of Threads that may be lacking so far. For example:
- Threads only has a single feed as opposed to Twitter's dual 'For You' and 'Following' feeds.
- Threads does not yet support alt text captions.
- Threads does not have a hashtag search functionality.
- Threads is only available on mobile, with no web or desktop version.
- Unlike Twitter, Threads does not allow users to edit their posts.
As it stands, opinions are mixed on whether Threads is on track to truly replace Twitter—but no one can deny that Threads is making an effort.
What Does Threads Mean for Law Firms?
With the backing of Meta and development by the Instagram team, Threads promises to uphold safety and privacy for users, making it a relatively low-risk option for law firms to try. Plus, the seamless connection between Instagram and Threads makes it easy for most firms to get a profile up and running in no time. And of course, the automatic transfer of followers from Instagram to Threads helps with rapid follower growth.
In short: Threads is an easy platform for attorneys to test drive. It can’t hurt to give it a go.
Threads certainly could be an excellent choice for law firms and lawyers aiming to establish themselves as thought leaders, share legal industry updates, and circulate text-heavy content—much like Twitter. It’s no surprise that the platform is quickly gaining traction among lawyers, small firms, and solo practitioners.
With that said, there are some potential problems worth considering.
Possible Concerns to Bear in Mind
Currently, you can only delete a Threads account by deleting the associated Instagram account. This means firms may want to think twice before creating a Threads account, since they might end up stuck with it indefinitely.
In addition to this, the public rivalry between Threads and Twitter—and their CEOs, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk—has sparked speculation of potential legal disputes.
And since Threads is a newly launched app, user demographics are still unclear. It’s hard to predict who the typical users will be, making it harder to know if a given target audience will be among them. Law firms should closely monitor the evolution of the Threads user base to keep track of how likely they are to find interested prospects on the platform.
Is Threads Right for Your Firm?
Should law firms embrace Threads? It’s worth a try. Given the minimal risks and the robust backing of Meta and the Instagram team, creating an account on Threads is unlikely to lead to any major problems.
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