Instagram Chief Offers Insight into Content Ranking in Threads

What new insights Instagram Chief is offering for Threads?

Suppose Threads wants to become a competitor against Twitter/X. In that case, it needs to focus more on trending topics and make it easier for people to engage in real-time conversation around significant events.

It has been one of the major criticisms of Threads as it stands, with many Threads users still referring to X for the latest updates on sports, world events, celebrity content, and many more.

Do Threads have a trending topics display?

Threads does not have a Trending Topics display, and it has just started testing out topic tags in selected regions. There is also no way to sort search results in the app chronologically. Combined, keeping up with evolving news stories as they happen in-stream makes it challenging.

What more insights does Instagram chief Adam Mosseri provide for Threads?  

And over the weekend, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri provided some more insights into why the Threads team is not overly interested in enabling this, at least as we know it, just yet.

Upon further consideration, Mosseri offered a more in-depth response to this. He explains that to clarify and have a comprehensive list of *every* post with a specific word in chronological order inevitably means spammers and other bad actors pummel the view with content by simply adding the relevant terms or tags.

It is a common issue on X that spammers add trending hashtags to their spam posts to get their content in front of more people in popular streams.

Why are Threads limiting the use of topic tags?  

It is also why Threads is limiting the use of topic tags to one per post at this stage, to restrict the capacity for this to be used as a spam vector and flood critical conversation surface with junk.

Mosseri further notes that Threads could limit misuse by removing more spam content from trending results, but that’s also not so easy.

Search products need ranking to avoid getting overrun with bad actors and bots. You can show results chronologically, but you must also omit all the harmful content that does not quite cross the line and qualify to be taken down.

Mosseri says there are many posts that most would consider junk, which also doesn’t cross that line. It is, therefore, more accessible to give discovery more real-time focus by imposing fair restrictions.

Mosseri’s comments underline that the Threads team’s revised approach to its content ranking is part of Meta’s broader effort to make Threads a more positive experience than Twitter was and X now is.

What CEO Mark Zuckerberg has noted?

Back in October, when outlining his ambition to adapt Threads into the next billion-user app, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted that there should be a billion-person public conversations app that is more positive.

He thought that if they succeeded in staying at this for a few more years, they would have a good chance of achieving their vision there.

As such, Threads is looking to go about things differently. It might be frustrating for those seeking a straight Twitter alternative. Still, it could enable Meta to build a healthier and more engaging real-time conversational experience in the long run.

However, it is easier to see that happening with real-time immediacy and the ability to identify the top discussion topics at any given time in the app.

Mosseri further noted that the Threads team is still iterating on this, exploring the best way to facilitate real-time engagement.

The answers have yet to be found, though ranking posts based on different parameters is one possibility.

Could the Threads team highlight the top stories from noted news outlets?    

It could also be risky, given Mosseri’s previous statements about avoiding over-promising engagement with news outlets in the app.

What more Threads might be looking for?

Threads could also move to a model that ranks each profile in the app based on trust and newsworthiness related to specific topics. It is based on the things that each regularly posts about.

Maybe it would be a more democratic way of ensuring relevance within the search display, though it would also take time to develop as Threads learns more about what each user shares in the app.

Are Threads looking to employ an editorial team?

Threads could also look to employ an editorial team. It would then ensure each topic stays focused and spammers don’t get reached on specific hashtags.

Limiting tag use to one per post would help, making it easier for an editorial team to deactivate specific posts from a topical feed.

But at the same time, that would also invite criticism over platform interference and managing what trends and what doesn’t in the app.

As you can see, there are no easy answers, but interestingly, the Threads team is looking to address challenges like this as it seeks to differentiate from Twitter while staying essentially the same.

And if Threads can get it right, that could be a big step toward improving online engagement.

It is a significant challenge, but if anyone has the insight and data to do it, it is none other than Meta.

Do you want to know more?

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