Meta's Social Media Platform Threads Introduces 'Ghost' Posts for Ephemeral Sharing
In an effort to boost user engagement on its platform, Meta has introduced a new feature called "ghost posts" in its social media app, Threads. These temporary posts will appear within the main feed like any other post but vanish after 24 hours. However, unlike traditional posts, users can interact with ghost posts as if they were regular posts, albeit only users who don't have the original poster in their following list can view likes and replies.
A unique twist is that comments on these ephemeral posts are directed to the users' personal inbox where they can choose to respond privately. This limited comment feature is partly due to Meta's default messaging settings which restrict direct messages to followed accounts, a setting that can be adjusted within the Threads app.
While this new feature seems like a logical extension of Instagram's Stories, its success on text-based platforms like Threads remains to be seen. Twitter briefly experimented with a similar format called "Fleets" but ultimately decided against it after CEO Jack Dorsey reportedly grew disillusioned with the feature.
In essence, Meta aims for users to freely express themselves without the burden of permanence and polish, but can this approach yield the desired results on Threads?
In an effort to boost user engagement on its platform, Meta has introduced a new feature called "ghost posts" in its social media app, Threads. These temporary posts will appear within the main feed like any other post but vanish after 24 hours. However, unlike traditional posts, users can interact with ghost posts as if they were regular posts, albeit only users who don't have the original poster in their following list can view likes and replies.
A unique twist is that comments on these ephemeral posts are directed to the users' personal inbox where they can choose to respond privately. This limited comment feature is partly due to Meta's default messaging settings which restrict direct messages to followed accounts, a setting that can be adjusted within the Threads app.
While this new feature seems like a logical extension of Instagram's Stories, its success on text-based platforms like Threads remains to be seen. Twitter briefly experimented with a similar format called "Fleets" but ultimately decided against it after CEO Jack Dorsey reportedly grew disillusioned with the feature.
In essence, Meta aims for users to freely express themselves without the burden of permanence and polish, but can this approach yield the desired results on Threads?
like who doesn't want a chance to share their thoughts without having to worry about getting roasted in the comments lol. I've always been a bit of a spontaneous sharer and these new threads seem like they're made for me. but at the same time, I'm not sure if it's gonna work out... my therapist told me that having too much self-disclosure online can be bad for my mental health 
so we'll see how this goes!
. i mean, twitter had that fleetz thing and didnt work out so ill just wait n c if threads takes off or not 
. But at the same time, it's like... what's the point of posting something if it's just gonna disappear in 24 hours? It feels kinda like Meta is trying to be all flexible and stuff, but really it's just making a mess 
.
. It feels like Meta is trying to water down the whole experience and make it less meaningful 
. And what's with the weird comment system? 
It's just so... confusing.
?
. threads already has a more relaxed vibe compared to other platforms so im curious if ghost posts will become a fave feature for users 
. i mean who doesn't love the idea of temporarily sharing their thoughts without worrying about them being out there forever? but maybe its also possible that it might just get lost in the shuffle 
.
. on one hand, i love the idea of bein able to share something without it stickin' around forever, but on another, dont u wanna be able tot keep track of what's goin on? its a weird tradeoff 
.
and the private inbox comments are such a nice touch too, no more getting overwhelmed by too many replies 
but i wonder if people will really use this feature or just kinda forget about it after 24 hours 
Still, I guess it's an interesting experiment, and who knows, maybe it'll find its way into our feeds and we'll all just be like "oh yeah, that was a ghost post..." 
.
on Threads!!! Like, who doesn't love the idea of sharing something super temporary and then having it vanish into thin air? It's like a digital version of writing in the sand 
. And I gotta say, I love that comments are going to personal inbox so people can be all private and mysterious about it 
. I mean, on Instagram Stories they had those "swipe-up" links which were kinda cool, but this "ghost post" thing takes it to a whole new level 
. Fingers crossed it works out and doesn't get a meh response from users 
, and it got me wondering if that's what they meant by "ephemeral sharing"... temporary, like a passing thought