Threads, Meta’s newest addition to the social media platform, has received both praise and criticism since its launch a few weeks ago. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Threads post following the launch: “The vision for Threads is to create an option and friendly public space for conversation. We hope to take what Instagram does best and create a new experience around text, ideas and discussing what’s on your mind.” 

Naila Hamdy, associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication and associate dean of graduate studies and research at the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and Rasha Abdulla ’92, ’96, professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, examine what Threads has to offer. 

Why has Threads been launched now?

Abdulla: Threads is a new social media application that allows threads of microblogging or tweet-like conversations. It is owned by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Its launch comes at a time when the use of X [formerly Twitter] is declining, as increasing numbers of users are not happy with the way Elon Musk is running that app. 

Hamdy: Threads was created with a purpose, which is to compete with X. With Threads, Meta is reviving a text-based platform vs. the visual-based Instagram. 

How is Threads different from other social media platforms? 

Abdulla: Threads is linked to the user's Instagram account, so users must have an Instagram account to use Threads, and they cannot delete their Threads account without deleting Instagram. Meta intends to position Threads as sort of a text extension to Instagram. Compared with X, Threads allows for longer messages of 500 characters, as opposed to X's 280 characters. Threads can also feature longer videos of up to five minutes, while X videos can only be  2 minutes and 20 seconds. So far, Threads is free from advertising, although I expect this will change once the app reaches certain benchmarks.

Some have called Threads the “X killer.” What is your take on that? 

Hamdy: It’s too early to tell. X has been changing a lot over the last few weeks and has its own fans. It's sort of a legacy social media, much like Facebook is. We need to let things settle and see. We can probably assess in a year's time. Both X and Threads may not take off, and maybe something else will come along, like the way TikTok did. Who would've thought that TikTok would get to the point where it's at today? We must remember that the old school has its followers. Not everybody will jump onto something new.

Abdulla: Threads is considered a major challenger to X mainly because it's backed by Meta and because so many X users are dissatisfied with the service and already looking for an alternative. So Threads is in a prime position to take over as the number-one microblogging app. 

Threads users totaled around 70 million one day after the app's launch. Why do you think it has reached such a high number in a short period of time?

Hamdy: This initial hike doesn’t indicate where it will be in the future; users have actually gone down afterward. This always happens: The social media arena becomes crowded, things pop up and some go down, like what happened with Clubhouse. We will see more of this as we progress. Competition is there. 

We also don’t have information on user age groups and where they’re from. Are we looking at North America, Europe or the Global South? We’ve seen so many ups and downs with social media, which is used by young and old people, different layers and generations. Will X users jump off-board and go to Threads? Not necessarily, especially since younger people are much more likely to go to visual-based social media. It’s too early to tell. We need to give it time to settle then we could look back and evaluate. 

What’s your advice to users?

Hamdy: As social media develops, everybody is looking for safety online, how to keep people safe in that environment with these conversations, who to encourage and who to remove. We must have regulations and community guidelines to protect youth, children and vulnerable groups. That's the most important thing to consider when a new medium is launched.

Abdulla: My advice to users is to just be aware of the amount of data that Threads and other social media apps and platforms collect about them. Most of us click "I agree" or "I accept" on the terms and conditions of any app without paying much attention to them. Other than the usual access to app content, phone contacts, photos, location, etc., the Threads policy also states that the app will have access to information that is not directly related to app usage, such as information on the user's health and fitness, finances, purchases and what they call "sensitive information" and "other data," so pretty much everything on the user's phone. Users should just be aware of the amount of data being collected about them and make their choices of social media apps accordingly. 

Hosted in collaboration with AUC’s School of Business and School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, the Leadership for Government Excellence Programme (LEP) was awarded the prestigious Excellence in Practice Award – Silver Award from the European Foundation for Management Development. Developed by AUC, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and King’s College, this program aims to hone the skills of civil servants in line with Egypt’s Vision 2030, including the National Administrative Reform Plan and the Sustainable Development Strategy. 

The EFMD Excellence in Practice Award is a prestigious recognition that celebrates outstanding and impactful learning and development initiatives from around the world. The winning LEP case was developed by AUC's School of Business' El-Khazindar Research and Case Center.

“Receiving the EFMD Excellence in Practice Award is not only a recognition of the hard work but also a motivation to continue to deliver together this gender-sensitive co-designed program, which contributes to a shift in mindsets, modernization and change of government machinery for effective public service delivery,” stated Sherifa Sherif, executive director of the National Institute of Governance and Sustainable Development in Egypt’s Ministry of Planning and Economic Development. 

LEP is designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills they need to lead effectively, manage change and drive innovation in their organizations. Delivered through a blend of classroom-based instruction, online learning and practical assignments, the program covers leadership theory and practice, strategic management, project management, data analysis, communication skills and more. 

“We are proud to be part of this nationwide effort to improve the effectiveness of government work through investments in human resources, competence-building and talent development in the public sector,” said Mohamed AbdelSalam, executive director of Executive Education at AUC’s School of Business. “This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our instructors, staff and partners who have contributed to the success of this program. It is also an acknowledgment of our commitment to excellence in education and our ongoing efforts to make a positive impact on society.” 

“We were delighted to be selected to work with AUC on this important programme for the Ministry,” said Tim Sellick, director of Custom Programmes at King’s Business School, King’s College London. “The program demonstrated ambition, not only in the learning outcomes required, but also in the real and practical change in behaviors they required of the participants as they went about this major transformation.”

Since its launch in 2019, the program has trained 120 government personnel from 24 ministries, including 40 women and 80 men. Its goal is to produce the leadership cadres to guide public service operations in the New Administrative Capital.

Whether studying mental health or disaster relief campaigns, understanding social media is key to navigating our modern world. Laila Abbas and Menna Elhosary, journalism and mass communication graduate students, have conducted four studies using social media data, all of which were accepted for paper presentations at the upcoming annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) conference to be held in Washington, D.C. in August. In addition, one paper is set to receive two awards at the conference. 

“After it all sank in, we felt that all the sleepless nights, daily trips to the library and endless Zoom meetings were all worth it,” Abbas said. “It felt great to have our efforts recognized in this way. As young scholars from the Middle East, we feel it is crucial to provide representation from the Global South at international conferences.”

While the topics of Abbas and Elhosary’s research projects are wide ranging, all explore the relationship between social media and society.

“We are driven by current and globally relevant topics,” Abbas explained. “We believe that social media captures data from our daily lives that is worthy of research and analysis, especially considering that younger generations spend so much time on social media.”

Their first project together began as a term paper for their Research Methods course at AUC and examined the relationship between social media and body image among Egyptian men. This paper is co-authored with Rasha Abdulla, professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Two other papers, “Woman, Life, Freedom: A Visual Rhetoric Analysis of #MahsaAmini on Twitter” and “Digitized Narratives on #MahsaAmini: Constructing a Cyberfeminist Movement on TikTok,” explored the ways social media shapes social movements. 

“Women, Life, Freedom” was co-authored with Shahira Fahmy, professor in AUC’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, whose research explores the relationship between social media communication and politically charged events.

An award-winning study on social media and humanitarian aid

Elhosary and Abbas’s award-winning paper titled “Visually Framing the Turkey-Syria 2023 Earthquake: Exploring Humanitarian Aid Organizations Communication on Twitter” was an entirely independent research project. 

The paper will take home the first place Student Paper Award and the Kappa Tau Alpha Top Scholar Award under the conference’s Visual Communication Division. It stands out among others for its novel theoretical approach and practical findings. 

“The paper is an early analysis of visual communication by humanitarian aid organizations with regard to natural disasters,'' Elhosary stated. 

Elhosary and Abbas examined tweets from 16 domestic and international humanitarian aid organizations responding to the Turkey-Syria earthquake to understand how different visual frames and Twitter features impacted user engagement. 

“This framing provides a holistic, empirical understanding of effective disaster communication, with insights for practitioners about the visual frames and Twitter features that are most effective in eliciting a public response and receiving high online engagement,” Elhosary said. 

This research will help organizations better understand how to engage Twitter users to improve fundraising and resource mobilization during disaster response efforts. 

“Presenting at the AEJMC conference will provide us with a valuable opportunity to network with other researchers and receive feedback on our work from respectful scholars,” said Elhosary.

“Attending other presentations and workshops at conferences allows us to broaden our research perspectives, giving us new ideas for our future work,” Abbas concluded

Shahjahan Bhuiyan, associate professor in AUC's Department of Public Policy and Administration and associate dean for Administration and Undergraduate Studies, has received the Transition and Developing Economies Award from the International Public Policy Association (IPPA). Bhuiyan is being recognized for his contributions to the development of the field of public policy and public administration in developing and transitioning countries.

“I am deeply humbled and privileged to be recognized by the IPPA, a preeminent global network of public policy schools,” Bhuiyan said.

Bhuiyan’s research explores how public administration operates in developing and transitioning countries. Specifically, he analyzes the role of governance in development, e-governance, public service delivery, public sector reform, decentralization and local governance, and society and public policy. His research provides a useful understanding of the challenges facing public administration in the Global South. "A lack of political and social inclusiveness and cohesion largely contributes to public maladministration and policy paralysis in many countries in the Global South,” he explained. 

Bhuiyan’s time at AUC has assisted in his research endeavors. “I consider my time at AUC academically stimulating. Drawing on the experience in the Middle East and North Africa region, I appreciated the opportunity to better understand the causes and consequences of the fragility of states," he said. 

Bhuiyan will officially receive the award during the 6th International Conference on Public Policy in Toronto this June.