6 July 2023
Meta will be launching Threads tomorrow in direct competition to Twitter, which is facing challenges of its own. But according to a CDU digital expert, both companies and their billionaire owners need to watch their backs as new players storm into the digital space. CDU digital expert Dr Jon Mason is available to comment on the launch of Threads and the impact it will have on the social media landscape.
Charles Darwin University (CDU) digital expert Dr Jon Mason
To arrange an interview please email media@cdu.edu.au, or contact Alayna Hansen on 0422 811 892.
Quotes attributable to Dr Mason:
“The battle of the social media tycoons is a bit of a sideshow. The major shift taking place in the digital environment is coming from AI and the social media empires of both Musk & Zuckerberg are being challenged. As are Google and Microsoft.”
“Prior to the current disruption there was already an argument that Big Tech and billionaires had hijacked the Web.
“What was once open, connected, and enabling is pretty much monetised. For the last two decades they’ve been thriving on a cavalier attitude about our personal data.”
“For me, the interesting space to watch – apart from AI – is all about the maturing of ‘Web 3.0’ in which the fully distributed architecture of the web is realised & the earlier false starts in terms of democratisation of voice (remember the Arab Spring) might also happen.
‘Web 3.0’ is kind of awkward terminology and is contested but basically it signals the next iteration of the web with decentralised platforms. Cryptocurrencies may be leading disruption, but it will happen in other domains.
“There are heaps of alternatives to Twitter & Threads out there that are yet to get critical mass in terms of users – Mastodon, for example.”
“More than likely Musk and Zuckerberg will also be successful in capitalising on opportunities of Web 3.0 so we may witness a reconfiguration of their platforms before long – in the same way as we are witnessing a refit of Google and Bing with AI capabilities.”
Contact details:
Alayna Hansen
Communications Officer
T: +61 8 8946 7479
M: 0422 811 892
E: media@cdu.edu.au
W: cdu.edu.au
