Meta/Instagram launched a new product called Threads today (working title project92). It adds a new interface for creating text posts and replying to them, using your Instagram account. Of note, Meta has stated that Threads plans to support ActivityPub in the future, and allow federation with ActivityPub services. If you actually look at your Threads profile page in the app your username has a threads.net tag next to it - presumably to support future federation.
Per the link, a number of fediverse communities are pledging to block any Meta-directed instances that should exist in the future. Thus instance content would not be federated to Meta instances, and Meta users would not be able to interact with instance content.
I’m curious what the opinions on this here are. I personally feel like Meta has shown time and time again that they are not very good citizens of the Internet; beyond concerns of an Eternal September triggered by federated Instagram, I worry that bringing their massive userbase to the fediverse would allow them to influence it to negative effect.
I also understand how that could be seen to go against the point of federated social media in the first place, and I’m eager to hear more opinions. What do you think?
Well thought out comment and I wholeheartedly agree.
And it’s not just Meta. It’s any for-profit organization. If we pay nothing to use it, we are the product.
As the greed develops, we’re becoming the product even in places where we do pay to spend our time.
As others have said: The day the mega corporations are allowed inside this sphere is the day I look for yet another alternative way to spend my time.
I would say it is alright if for profit organizations want to run their own instance if it is just with some communities about their products or services, like a game or some hardware device perhaps or a local public transport organization and some users who are their employees.