Four months ago, I shared my departure from a social media platform I once loved and participated in for 15 years: Goodbye Twitter, X, or Whatever You’ve Become.
Shortly before leaving I joined Bluesky and, to date, have seen some hopeful signs that this platform might grow into something similar to what I experienced long ago on Twitter. In my first four months I’ve attracted nearly 1,000 followers and experienced some meaningful engagement.
Interestingly, I joined Threads well before Bluesky but never really made the same number of connections nor did I find the same level of engagement with the content I posted. Currently, I have fewer than 400 followers on the platform and, prior to last week, my most liked thread had six likes.
Last Wednesday evening I posted the same content on multiple social media platforms, including Bluesky and Threads. The Bluesky post received seven likes.. The Thread, however, nearly went viral (at least in comparison to my prior experiences). As of today, it has received 676 likes (more than 100x what any prior thread had received) alongside 57 comments.
The thread shows an image of Connie Ortega and me in Advent Lutheran Church’s (ELCA) sanctuary. This selfie was snapped at the conclusion of the congregation’s final service of Ash Wednesday, which was a bilingual experience. And the thread contains these words, “Final service of the day was my first ever bilingual Ash Wednesday experience.”
So What?
I know enough about social media to know that this unexpected experience is the product of many variables. I happened to post this thread when Ash Wednesday was trending and chose an image that resonated with many viewers.
A week later, I’ve gained a few dozen followers and my latest threads seem to fare better than I’m used to, resulting in a range of two to 16 likes.
I’m sure that I’ll long remember Ash Wednesday 2025 as a day of many firsts, including:
- My first Ash Wednesday at Advent Lutheran Church
- My first time leading a bilingual service
- My first time having a Thread receive 500+ likes