The world seldom experiences a social media war, but there’s one raging now between Threads and Twitter, as well as between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. I guess it’s time for a confession to my readers . . . I’m hooked on social media. I don’t want to admit it, but I walk around with my cell phone in my hand, like a teenager. I also love pop culture, awards shows, current fashion and current music. Social media is a Gemini thing, I’m sure.
I got on Twitter right after it launched in 2006, but I only lasted for about 5 years on that platform. The limit of 144 characters felt confining for me after a while. Yes, I do Facebook, even though it feels old-fashioned, so my go-to platform is Instagram. The images are comforting, but the hashtags (#) are also limiting. They serve as a good mini-search engine but are not very conducive to chatting. Forget TikTok, for me at least. It’s all video and is too loud and aggressive for my liking. So, in my opinion, all these platforms have problems.
Now enters Threads, who walked through the social media door and provided needed solutions that were being overlooked by the other, older platforms, like Twitter. And the world listened. As I write this, Threads now has 100 million users and is available in over 100 countries . . . in one week! As this diagram shows, Threads reached 10 million users in 7 hours while Twitter took 780 days to capture 10 million users. Of course, the world is much more social media savvy in 2023 than it was in 2006. FYI, Facebook was launched in February 2004.
Threads, in contrast, is very Aquarian. It is much, much more user friendly than Twitter. They have a 500-character limit on posts as well as introducing an easy chatting format. The font on Threads is clean and easy to read, while Twitter’s font is bold and heavy. I think the heavy font added to more aggressive behavior on Twitter. The whole look and layout of Threads is Aquarian. Of course, Aquarius is the rebel of the Zodiac who brings the future. Capricorn wants to keep the old status quo and not make any changes.
Threads has brought some new things to social media. I’m seeing celebrities posting, which is very unusual. There is a much lower signal to noise ratio. No DMs (Direct Messaging). The common phrase is “He slid into my DMs,” is when people are trying to contact you directly. You must be careful about who slips into your DMs. There don’t seem to be any mean bots on Threads, so far at least. There are no ads, no bots and no Nazis. Apparently, Twitter was crawling with Nazis.
Threads is still working out the bugs and is deciding what options it wants to include. I notice that some users are making some suggestions. It seems people want a chronological feed, hashtags and trending topics. They also want to be able to see the posts from the people they are following. The viewers have gone down in numbers after the initial rush. So, we’ll have to see how much Threads gives in to people who were used to having more choices on Twitter. Of course, retention of users is of upmost importance.
On a side note, I have noticed something odd. I googled “ Tucson Weather” since we are having a major heat wave right now. Hey, it’s only 112 today. The second listing on Google said, “Popular on Twitter about Tucson weather.” What? That is totally new. Is Twitter paying Google to list “Trending Tweets?” Somehow that just doesn’t feel right.
Let’s look at the chart for Threads first. Threads was launched on July 5, 2023, at 7 pm, New York, NY. Yes, a business can have a birth chart just like an individual. Threads’ Sun is in community-minded Cancer, with a Moon in innovative Aquarius and an enthusiastic Sagittarius rising sign. The sign of Cancer is about family and connections between people . . . having a safe home for people to gather. Threads is incredibly positive. The Aquarius Moon explains the modern style and user friendliness. The international Sag rising brings in the entire world.
The red lines in every chart show the challenges while the blue lines show the talents and gifts.
There are two red configurations in the chart of Threads. One points to Uranus in the 5th house. Uranus is the planet associated with Aquarius and technology. Uranus squares the Aquarius Moon who is opposite Mars and Venus in Leo. Remember the Mars/Venus conjunction in the sky now? Mars/Venus could easily explain the unbridled enthusiasm that Threads has stirred in its brief life since being launched.
The other red configuration points to Pluto in the 2nd house. For all my readers who are caught up with my recent articles, Pluto is the main planet now as it slowly enters the sign of Aquarius. This will change the world. Remember I said Pluto in Aquarius would be power by consensus, not by hierarchy? Threads is people talking to each other equally. Pluto is squaring the Moon’s Nodes now, which will ensure huge change in humanity and Threads seems to be taking the Aquarian lead now.
In summary of red lines: The challenges of Threads are to bring a new way of communicating to the world, regardless of the resistance of others.
Looking at the blue lines in the chart of Threads, let’s start with the Sun trine Saturn in the 3rd house. Saturn has done his homework so that the worldwide community has a new place to gather. Saturn also trines the South Node, which is often involved with fixing old problems. The platform is modern so that more people can easily use it and find an internet home.
Threads’ last two blue lines are from fun Venus and Mars in Leo to the North Node of destiny. That is a Very fortunate alignment that pretty much ensures success, because people are having Leo fun.
In summary of blue lines: The talent of Threads is to make a safe haven for people to enjoy connecting with each other.
To summarize this chart: Threads is here to break old barriers in technology so that a new, more positive multiverse can be born.
Now let’s look at the chart of Twitter. The launch of Twitter was on March 21st, 2006, in San Francisco. It doesn’t have a time of birth, so I used noon for the chart. Twitter’s Sun is in pioneering Aries with an adventurous Sagittarius Moon. Twitter has a good chart, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an astrologer who helped with the timing of the launch. Twitter was launched almost on the spring Equinox, which is an auspicious time to start a business. Twitter was King of social media for many years.
The second red line angle is from Mars in Gemini in the 12th house to Mercury Uranus conjunction in the 8th house. Uranus is technology and Mercury is communication, which worked well for one of the first social media platforms on the internet. Since Mercury and Uranus are in the sign of Pisces, it could bring some secrets and undermine the open concept with unscrupulous interest groups. These red lines want to change the way people talk to each other. And they did. Mercury Uranus also square the Sag Moon in the 6th house. Once again, selling it to the world.
The last red line configuration is from Jupiter in Scorpio in the 5th house to Neptune Venus in Aquarius in the 8th house. These squares could bring in more secrets and misunderstandings. There is a need for honesty and transparency with the intentions of Twitter.
In summary of red lines: The challenge of Twitter is to bring a new style of communication to the world while being transparent, so underlying powers don’t take control.
Now let’s look at the blue lines in the chart of Twitter. The truly fortunate Sun and North Node in Aries are trine to Saturn in Leo in the first house. This is almost the same aspect as in the chart of Threads. They both have their Sun trine to Saturn, the planet of business. This is a talent of being organized and disciplined in business.
More blue lines come from successful Jupiter in the 5th house to the Mercury Uranus conjunction in the 8th house. That one is an impressive talent for success in the business of technology. It’s no wonder Twitter was the only chat platform for so many years.
The last two blue lines are from Mars in communicative Gemini to the Venus Neptune conjunction in the 8th house. Once again, success with communication.
In summary of blue lines: The talents of Twitter are the abilities to bring technology to the world through communication.
To summarize this chart: Twitter is here to offer a new type of communication while making sure that the users are in charge and not special interest groups.
Ok, my phone gave me a report of my time on social media for this last week. It says it all.
Threads: 5.6 hours
Instagram: 2.3 hours
Messages: 1.1 hours
Facebook: .8 hours
I encourage everyone to download the Threads app on your phone from your app’s store. It will allow you to be part of the current world of modern technology. At least for now, the positivity is much stronger than the negativity and it might be a momentous time to be part of the Aquarian future. The future is now, folks.