Threads Begins Testing Ads

Threads is officially moving forward with ads, testing them “with a handful of brands,” according to Threads chief Adam Mosseri.

Threads is Meta’s newest social media platform, initially conceived to take advantage of the fallout from Musk’s purchase of Twitter. The company has been focused on growing the platform, but it appears it is finally ready to begin advertising on Threads, much like Facebook and Instagram.

Mosseri posted a message on Threads announcing the change.

We’re starting a small test for ads on Threads with a handful of brands in the US and Japan. We know there will be plenty of feedback about how we should approach ads, and we are making sure they feel like Threads posts you’d find relevant and interesting. We’ll closely monitoring this test before scaling it more broadly, with the goal of getting ads on Threads to a place where they are as interesting as organic content.

Needless to say, most of the comments are opposed to the announcement, with some pointing out how nice it would be if Meta would leave at least one of its platforms ad-free.

cult_papawrote:

I have immediate feedback for you; Why?

Does meta not bring in enough ad revenue already from instagram and facebook?
So do you intend to supplement this by paying users a portion of ad-revenue for generating the content that makes scrolling and seeing these ads between posts worthwhile?

We give your platform value, not the other way around.

Others, like flutesandpoems, pointed out that they don’t want to be the customer and the product at the same time.

I get a million views a month on this site and don’t get paid a dime. But now you’re going to try to sell to me. I am unwilling to be both the product and the customer. I will never click on an ad on a meta site and you’ll never be able to come up with an ad that I find relevant or interesting.

Anyone who thinks Meta will not monetize Threads with ads is kidding themselves. The company clearly intends to turn Threads into another advertising vehicle, Bluesky, Mastodon, and other open platforms the only real alternative.