Thoughts by the Pound

🧵 Threads = Google+ It will probably last longer than Google’s foray into a true social network, but Threads is skyrocketing because it’s already building off other Meta products. And, much like Google did, look for Threads to be integrated into everything else Meta: WhatsApp, Oculus, their idea of the metaverse, even the Facebook app itself. 🧵Threads is the savior of Meta’s ad business Meta has lost massive troves of user data due to ad blockers, privacy sandboxes, and iOS App Tracking Transparency. They need more signals, coming in with more velocity. Nothing moves faster than a microblogging network, and Twitter (before acquisition) was making ~10% of their revenue off data licensing. More data = better ad targeting. New platform = new ad units and packages to sell. 🧵 Threads will also save Instagram Kylie Jenner-gate already told us that users (and especially influencers) want Instagram to be the place for photos, not so much Reels. TikTok already has short vertical video boxed out so well, and with Twitter becoming…whatever it is, users were already using Instagram more for *text* than ever before. Threads lets everyone get along: Instagram stays focused on photos, and celeb or influencer “I’m sorry you feel that way” confessions go on Threads, rather than posting screenshots of a Notes app page. 🧵 Threads will NOT put Meta in jeopardy with the FTC The FTC has been giving Meta the side-eye for a long time, mainly for user data privacy and anticompetitive practices. Cloning another social network *would* have been a bad move in this environment, *if* the network you were copying wasn’t already owned by another FTC pariah: Elon Musk. 🧵 Threads = Fediverse “Big Bang” You’ve been sleeping on the fediverse. You’ve vaguely heard about Mastodon or PixelFed, and possibly the ActivityPub protocol. It’s time to dive in and go deep: Threads at least *will* be part of the fediverse, and is arguably already its biggest network. (More here: https://help.instagram.com/169559812696339)

So many amazing textures and wonders found today @crowmuseum - soaking in beauty like this is good for the soul. @lgswayne (at Crow Museum of Asian Art) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnaa5S0PI8i/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I recently got the chance to - FINALLY - visit @starshipbagel, the creation of amazing business polymath Oren Salomon. This place reset my scale for what a “bagel with schmear” could be, all while serving up some lovely @onyxcoffeelab coffee from their @groundcontrl batch brewer. This place is a treasure, and I can’t wait to see what’s next, Oren!! (at Starship Bagel) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnXhte1vpXx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

https://templatelab.com/the-psychology-of-sharing/

at The Thanks-Giving Foundation / Thanks-Giving Square https://www.instagram.com/p/CX1ZUDIlFl_/?utm_medium=tumblr

Yesterday can only be described as an early Christmas present! It’s been so long since @lgswayne and I could spend a whole day together on our own. I’m so, so blessed. Merry Christmas everyone! (at Dallas Museum of Art) https://www.instagram.com/p/CX1X101FBlQ/?utm_medium=tumblr

Yes folks, I’m more than just a #coffeenerd, now you can call me a #coffee writer! Check out my article in @edibledfw magazine about amazing shops bringing their culture to coffee like @paxandbeneficia, @blackcoffeefw, @goldenboycoffeeco and more! https://www.instagram.com/p/CWoTovPvXY8/?utm_medium=tumblr

We are celebrating #nationaldogday with our best boy, Fenrir! We couldn’t be happier that he’s in our lives, and we are so glad he is sharing his life with us. @lgswayne #adoptdontshop #blueheeler #australiancattledog #fenrir (at Denton, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTEDDFJsVbu/?utm_medium=tumblr

What’s that? You haven’t met the most good boy ever? Lemme fix that right here right now - meet Fenrir! We call him Fen. Or the Sweetest Doggo Ever. #goodboy #dogsofinstagram #blueheeler #australiancattledog #adoptdontshop #shelterdog #doggo (at Denton, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSR9HzQnKFY/?utm_medium=tumblr

Making memories. This trip to #dauphinisland was about lifetime memories for our family, and we came home with SO many. I felt joy teaching my kids to surf on their boogie boards and watching them fly towards the shore. I felt excited leading them out to the sandbar past ocean too deep to let them stand further than they could on their own. I felt blessed by so many sights, sounds, and tastes I’d never experienced before. I felt God speaking to me about life and it’s challenges as I stood trying to hold my ground against the waves while soaked by the summer sun. I felt awe that I get to parent this family with Larissa, even when the parenting got hard as ALL of us left ALL our energy out there on the beach. I felt ecstatic watching my kids work together and play together after a year that threw upon us a whole collection of ALL the mental health baseball cards. I felt peace with a God that can make massive tides and achingly beautiful sunsets. I felt sunburned in places where I swore I put sunscreen, and places I forgot until painfully reminded. I feel now both tired and renewed all at the same time. I feel now my vision looking ahead to the next half of 2021. And as always, #getyourwatchwetpeople. #beach #islandlife #dauphinislandalabama #instax #casioduro #casio #bartonbands #cathedralbasilica #mobilealabama #sandcastle #nightbeach #photodump #memories (at Dauphin Island, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRrWSY1HRoa/?utm_medium=tumblr

Finally catching up with what was such an incredible birthday celebration that I couldn’t possibly ask for more. Had an amazing date day with my beautiful wife all over the #bishopartsdistrict with stops at @paradisodallas, @emporiumpies, @mosaicmakersco, @weare1976 and @whiterhinocoffee. Plus some joy that came in from the inimitable @swardloop and @modern_arcana. And that last one from @nexgrill is birthday + Fathers Day from my Wife and she’s amazing. Again. (at Bishop Arts District) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQRbG62H_TI/?utm_medium=tumblr

#Saturday morning is the perfect time to post this: I call it my Wake Up Watch. Functional bit by @bertucci_field_watches, strappy bit by @utewatchco (thanks to a recco from the inimitable @jestacey and @thegreynato). I put this on almost every morning because it helps me keep my morning on time, it has enough #superluninova lume to walk into my darkened kids’ rooms to wake them up and tell them what time it is, and it’s titanium case + white dial is the right combination of indestructible comfort with style to wear all day if I end up doing so. I slept in hard this Saturday morning, but I’ve got my Wake Up Watch on and it’s time to see how productive I can be today. 🙌💪⏱ (at Parthenon, Arkansas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQBrE1MHrVJ/?utm_medium=tumblr

And the award for best shoulder of 2021 goes to...my left. #vaccinated #covidvacccine (at Texas Motor Speedway) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLz910NHiCe/?igshid=1xwqi4efnj90n

So excited I was in the area and finally got to see @mouyyad ‘s @paxandbeneficia. My friend, it is a beautiful place, and I hope we can chat over a coffee there, or at your new one in FW! (at Pax & Beneficia Coffee) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKQDusZHZJ6/?igshid=axoqyfay1dj5