My Thoughts on Meta's Threads

Long before I became an author, I was a software engineer for many years. Technically, I still am a software engineer as I often write bits of code here and there to solve or assist with various problems that crop up throughout my efforts as a publisher. It's for that reason that I tend to enjoy analyzing new technologies and their impacts on existing markets and facets of the tech world, and the world at large. You might say that sort of thing is baked into me at this point.

Still, I've always been reluctant to jump in and pontificate about such developments without taking some time to properly assess the tech and the ways it's being used as I don't believe there's much value in rushing to judgment if one's goal isn't simply to "get some clicks."

Thus, I've taken my time with Meta's new social media platform, "Threads." I've studied it and used it fairly extensively over the past week or so since its launch and I've come to some conclusions that I feel reasonably comfortable sharing.

So, without further ado, here are my thoughts on Threads:

For me, there are three key factors that differentiate Threads from the myriad of other social media options available, particularly when compared with its most-obvious rival, Twitter.

1 - the absence of hashtags, direct messages, and keyword searches

At its core, Threads is a platform that purports to be about "conversations," specifically public conversations, and nowhere is that ethos more strikingly represented than in the things (I believe) it intentionally lacks when compared with its social media contemporaries.

Users can only "search" for other users, not keywords, phrases, or topics. They therefore have to find people who create new Threads (posts) about things they're interested in either by already being aware of them, or by seeing their Threads in the "home" feed as a result of them becoming popular enough to show up there. They also are only able to communicate with each other publicly, via likes, reposts, and comments. There are no private messages, which ensures that any Thread or comment a user makes can potentially be seen by anyone, even non-Threads users who might view the content anonymously via the app's bare-bones web interface.

What this means is that you won't see the typical wall of hashtags in a post you might find on other platforms, unless you happen upon something posted by someone relatively new to Threads, who's yet to realize that they don't actually work or serve any purpose in that context.

Users can be "mentioned" as they can on other social media apps via an @, but that's about the only such targeting convention that Threads allows, which again means that you as a user will largely end up seeing content from other users that you've specifically interacted with in some way (followed, liked, commented on, mentioned, etc.)

The end result of this key design decision is a platform that inherently feels more personal and intimate because it is. Sure, when you first start using Threads, your home feed will be inundated with "popular" posts from "popular" people and entities; however, the more you use the app and the more you interact with other users and their content, the less generic and more specific, and (for lack of a better term) curated, the experience becomes.

That said, it's early days for Threads and who knows what it will end up being like if and when advertising and biased algorithms become involved but for now, it has a very pure "old-school internet" vibe to it that I'd say represents the bulk of its appeal and its most stand-out quality in the current "tech culture" landscape.

2 - its emphasis on text over imagery

It may seem like a small thing but I believe the decision to position the text of a post over any media associated with it, versus how things are done on Instagram for example, where images and video are front and center and any captions are generally presented and consumed as an afterthought, if at all, strikes me as very intentional. Again, this seems to reenforce the notion of Threads being targeted at conversationalists, who value a well-written bit of prose over any sort of meme or eye candy.

I've even noted quite the pushback against several posts primarily containing video from many in the community who seem to feel such things have no place on Threads and "belong on Instagram."

Note: For those unaware, Threads and Instagram use the same login credentials and to a large extent, Threads is being pitched by Meta as the text-centric, conversational extension of Instagram despite being its own separate app with its own unique endpoints (web site, mobile apps, etc.)

On a related note, I also find it interesting that the Threads app generally discourages an abundance of media in posts. Users can present external links, an image or group of images, or even a video but only one of them will render in the post, and always at the bottom, after all text and before the engagement buttons (like, share, comment, etc.)

Again, I think this is very intentional and speaks to the overarching goal of the app being to create a place more about text-based conversations than anything else, despite other mediums being allowed, ostensibly to support or enhance those conversations.  

3 - the stripped-down, minimalist UI/UX

A lot of people have been floating the idea that the current Threads user experience is only as "simple and clean" as it is because "missing" features haven't been finished and added yet but I seriously doubt that's the case. With the money and resources Meta has at its disposal, I imagine there's very little they wanted in the app, which, let's face it, isn't anything all that impressive from a technical standpoint beyond its need to scale to accommodate tens or hundreds of millions of concurrent users, that isn't already there.

Sure, they no doubt have a roadmap, and there will almost certainly be changes and additions to Threads throughout its lifespan, but I suspect it's already far closer to "finished" than many seem to think.

If so, I consider that a good thing. My experience using the app thus far has been surprisingly positive and I don't have any trouble seeing why people have been flocking to it. Is it a silver bullet "Twitter killer?" Maybe, but I'd argue that most of Twitter's biggest wounds, particularly over the past year or so, have been largely self-inflicted.

One thing's for sure, though. Threads is definitely "unique" in the current social media landscape. When I look at it compared to other micro-blog "Twitter competitors" like Mastodon and Bluesky, I see a lot that differentiates it beyond a core philosophy (Mastodon's fediverse) or exclusivity (the only thing Bluesky really seems to have going or it at the moment in my opinion.)

It will definitely be interesting to see how this all plays out in the coming weeks, months, and years but those are my thoughts at the moment.

If you're on Threads, or interested in checking it out, be sure to visit my profile and consider giving me a follow there. As always, you can find all my social media links here, or via my Linktree.

As a little bonus, here's my current "wish list" for Threads:

• an "edit" button (This could be character and/or time limited but it would be nice to have some option rather than having to delete-repost just to fix a simple typo.)
• a limit on the number of new Threads users can create in a given time period (I think 1 per-day or 3-5 per week would greatly increase the quality of Threads being created and encourage users to interact more with the Threads others have started, rather than just churning out a slew of their own.)
• a dark mode toggle for the mobile app (Oddly, such a toggle is already available via the Threads logo in the web app but I've yet to locate an equivalent function in the iOS version.) 
• a proper desktop app
• a proper (fully functional) web app (as opposed to the current "view-only" offering)

Until next time, happy reading, everybody!

"500" and its Place in The Nod/Wells Timelines

As many of you already know, my new novel "500" will be released very soon, with the paperback and hardcover editions available on Tuesday, May 2nd, and the Kindle edition available on Friday, July 7th!

What you may not be aware of is where this new book sits along The Nod/Wells Timelines as my original post about them was (intentionally) a bit vague regarding that.

So, without further ado, I present an updated iteration of the timelines with a few little tweaks and enhancements.

As you can see, there is only one book left to "complete" the timelines as I originally conceived them, which will be announced and released in early 2024. That being said, I'll have more to share about some future works related to the timelines as part of that release.

For now, my focus is very much on "500" and the pivotal contribution it will be making to the overarching narrative, even as it retains the standalone nature customary of my previous works.

Until next time, happy reading!

500 (via Amazon)

The Post Mortem Report

As an author, it can often be quite challenging, not only to make potential readers aware of one's works but to pique their interest in said works to the point where they feel compelled to acquire and read them. As you might suspect, nothing beats a ringing endorsement from a trusted third party, such as the following video, which recently featured one of my books, "The Nemesis Effect," in addition to several others you might find interesting.

Of course, such things, wonderful as they are, can rarely be predicted. Consequently, an avenue that established authors often pursue is the creation of a podcast. Those efforts have a lot of potential benefits, allowing authors to ideally connect with new and existing readers alike on a regular basis, providing them with a better sense of who the authors are as people while possibly becoming more interested in engaging with their works as a result.

It's for this reason that I recently started a podcast with fellow speculative-fiction author Ronald McGillvray called "The Post Mortem Report." In each episode, we talk about various social media posts and topics that we both find compelling, often featuring books, films, music, TV shows, and video games.

With five episodes under our belts and a sixth about to be released a few days after this post, I feel fairly confident suggesting that we've managed to create something pretty special with this show, which I believe has the potential to appeal to a wide range of people, regardless of their level of familiarity with our accomplishments as authors.

Thus, I present the following YouTube playlist, which features all the current episodes of the show from newest to oldest. Hopefully, you'll all enjoy watching them as much as we enjoyed creating them!

The Post Mortem Report - Official Site - YouTube

The Nod/Wells Timelines

I've talked quite a bit over the years about the ways that my books directly and indirectly relate to one another despite being self-contained stories specifically designed to be consumed in whatever order a reader might prefer but I've never really visualized that in a tangible way... until now.

Thus, I present the first publicly-available version of "The Nod/Wells Timelines," which not only illustrates the ways that my first five novel-length books correlate, but additionally offers some insights into how the next two releases I plan to announce in 2023 and 2024 will fit into that structure.

As my published works become more plentiful and widely read, I'm increasingly asked questions like "What order should I read these in?" and the fact is that there's no "correct" answer. In my mind, it would be just as valid to read everything in the order of its publication, or following the above timelines, or even reversing or randomizing them. Granted, that would undoubtedly provide a very different experience as readers would encounter characters, events, settings and other narrative elements in significantly-different ways that would almost-certainly alter their perceptions of them but I see those potential variations as part of the fun inherent in this project's unique construction.

Having said that, I will list the books below in their order of publication for anyone interested in contrasting that with the above timelines:

• "The Big Men" (2017)
• "309" (2018)
• "Shards" (2020) - includes "Academic Displacement" (originally published in 2019) 
• "The Nemesis Effect" (2021)
• "Big Man Down" (2022)
• TBA in 2023
• TBA in 2024 - will include "Mr. Perkins Goes to Hell" (originally published in 2021)

Hopefully, everyone finds this information helpful, or at least interesting, but in any case, the thing I really want to emphasize is that (as far as I'm concerned) there is no right or wrong way to read these books in terms of sequence and readers should always feel free to come to their own conclusions about that. Of course, this being the internet, at least some folks will undoubtedly feel compelled to share their own thoughts about the subject, and various other aspects of the things I've created, but again, I feel that's part of the fun.

Until next time, happy reading, everybody!

Michael Shotter's Amazon Author Page

Big Man Down

Today, I'm very pleased to share a few details about my latest novel, "Big Man Down," which will be available to order as a 6x9" paperback or hardcover on March 1st in anticipation of its Kindle edition release on March 18th, 2022.

"Big Man Down" is my fourth novel-length book since "The Big Men" back in 2017 and as with all my other published works, it ties directly into the overarching literary universe I've been creating while still standing alone as its own, unique and self-contained story.

That said, fans of "The Big Men" and my short-fiction anthology, "Shards," will no doubt be particularly interested in the events that unfold throughout "Big Man Down" and there are certainly a few elements in it that readers of "309" and "The Nemesis Effect" may find compelling as well.

Additional information can be found on the book's Amazon page and in this recent interview I did with "Feed My Reads." Please also note that the cover reveal for "Big Man Down" will be taking place at "Linda's Book Bag" on January 31st, 2022!

The past five years have been very exciting and fulfilling for me as I've worked to establish myself as an author. There's been no shortage of challenges along the way but I've always been, and continue to be, encouraged by the ever-growing support you as readers have shown for my works. As always, I remain extremely thankful and grateful for every bit of that support.

Until next time, happy reading, everyone!

The Nemesis Effect

As many of you already know, today marks the official release of my new sci-fi, action, adventure thriller, "The Nemesis Effect."

Of course, the paperback and hardcover editions of the book have been available for a few days now in an effort to give readers a chance to get their physical copies in hand in time for the launch of the Kindle edition but in my mind, today is its true birthday.

This also marks my first time publishing two major releases in the same year, with my novelette, "Mr. Perkins Goes to Hell," debuting via Kindle Vella back in July. That's unlikely to occur again as I'm really more of a "one book per-year" sort of writer but it was definitely fun and interesting to push myself a bit and participate in the launch of that new platform.

I've also been very honored and tickled by the reception "The Nemesis Effect" has gotten from early readers. It's always an amazing feeling to have a book praised by reviewers but it's particularly satisfying to see the hype and positive buzz those assessments have helped to generate for its release. As any author or publisher will tell you, there are few things more vital to a book's success than positive reviews and word of mouth surrounding its launch, so I find myself particularly grateful to have reached a point in this profession where such things are possible for my works.

With all that in mind, I'm very much looking forward to enjoying the holiday season and taking a bit of time to rest and recharge myself before diving back into the fray to promote and release my next novel in 2022.

Until next time, thank you all for the tremendous support you've shown my works as readers and I sincerely hope that you enjoy experiencing "The Nemesis Effect" as much as I enjoyed writing it.

"The Nemesis Effect" at Amazon

Hardcover - Paperback - Kindle

Mr. Perkins Goes to Hell

Today, I'm thrilled to announce the release of my latest novelette, "Mr. Perkins Goes to Hell," which is available right now as a series of eight episodes from Amazon's brand-new "Kindle Vella" store!

It's extremely surreal to be one of the first authors included in Vella's launch content and I am beyond excited for everyone to read and enjoy this new story, delivered in a fun and engaging new way.

For those unfamiliar with Kindle Vella, it's a new, story-delivery platform that emphasizes serialized, episodic, short-form content that readers can "unlock" one episode at a time using purchased tokens.

As with all the stories on Vella, the first three episodes of "Mr. Perkins Goes to Hell" are available to read for free, with each of the five remaining episodes requiring a number of tokens corresponding to their respective lengths. Some episodes are compact and tightly-focused, while others are more rich and expansive, akin to traditional book chapters. In either case, rest assured that each episode has been meticulously crafted to deliver the same caliber of prose that fans of my previous works have come to expect.

When I made the decision to participate in this new platform, my most-important goal was to ensure that doing so would in no way compromise or limit the quality of my storytelling and I firmly believe that I have achieved that goal. When I study the details of the finished product, I am completely convinced that it is as successful and worthy an artistic endeavor as any of my prior, novel-length works and I therefore feel just as confident and proud to stand behind and promote it as I have in those cases.

I mention all this simply to reassure readers that delivering this story via Vella was not something I did lightly for the sake of bandwagon jumping, or any other such nonsense. In short, I have done so because I truly believe that it properly fits snugly within the structure and ethos of the Vella platform. Thus, I wholeheartedly encourage you to jump in with confidence, read "Mr. Perkins Goes to Hell," and use any remaining tokens to explore the many other stories Vella already has on offer.

As always, I greatly appreciate the seemingly ever-growing and enthusiastic support I've received from all of you over these past few years regarding my efforts as an author. To me, today's release represents another huge step in an amazing journey that I've deeply enjoyed sharing with all of you.

In other words, thanks a bunch! :)

More Updates

With the release of "Shards" fast approaching, I wanted to post a few, new updates. As with my similar post earlier this year, I'm going to divide things up into categories to call attention to specific items but by all means, have a look at everything as there's a bit of crossover this time.

Writing

As those of you who've already checked out the pre-order for the Kindle Edition of "Shards" may have noticed, that book is going to be available to read for free via Kindle Unlimited upon its release. As part of that process, I've had to remove my novelette, "Academic Displacement," from the Google Play and Apple Books stores since it is part of the "Shards" collection and one of the big requirements for inclusion in Kindle Unlimited is the content being exclusive to Amazon.

I definitely have some mixed feelings about this as I'm a big fan and supporter of competition in the business world, and the choices and benefits that such competitions often create for consumers. That being said, it's no secret that the vast majority of my book sales over the past three years have been via Amazon, which would seem to indicate that readers in general, or at least my readers, tend to prefer that platform when it comes to eBook purchases. As a result, I'm hoping this change will end up being a net positive for all concerned, making the story more easily and inexpensively available via the most popular venue.

Along those lines, I'll be looking very closely at the sales numbers for my first two novels over the next few months to determine if a similar arrangement would make sense for them. As many of you know, I recently updated "The Big Men" as part of an effort to improve the printing and binding of the paperback edition to make it more compact and less expensive to print, which in turn allowed me to lower the price of all editions of the book. For that project and for the time being, I decided to keep the eBook editions available on all three stores but that could well change in the future if participating in Kindle Unlimited has the effect I suspect it might.

I should also mention that a similar printing/binding update for "309" will be available soon, which will allow me to reduce its price as well. I'm hoping to have this done in time for the release of "Shards" but it may occur a bit later as I'm not quite as far along with that process as I'd hoped to be at this point.

All things considered, I'm still very happy with where things stand at the moment regarding my efforts as an author and I am beyond excited for everyone to finally get the chance to experience "Shards" when it's released on October 2nd.

YouTube

I'm also excited to note that my YouTube channel has officially passed 200 subscribers! As you might expect, I'll soon be making a video about that and what I'm planning to do with the channel moving forward but for now, be sure to check out the two most recent "Why it's Awesome" episodes I've released since my last update if you haven't seen them yet.

Twitch

Sadly, I've once-again made the difficult decision to stop regularly streaming on my Twitch channel after completing the 25th episode of my "Sunday Funday" live show earlier this year. As much as I enjoy doing that sort of thing, the views, both of the streams themselves and the VoDs after the fact, just weren't consistent or high enough to justify continuing with the project.

Moving forward, my plan for Twitch is to use it exclusively for special, one-off live events such as musical performances, interviews, and coverage/commentary of other presentations. Basically, I want to refocus my efforts on that platform to really emphasize the things it does well and the things I do well on it but that's admittedly going to take some time, and likely some more trial and error, to suss out completely.