This week’s FWD covers the latest on Instagram Threads, Meta’s Twitter rival app launching tomorrow, July 6th, according to the App Store listing, showing a version ready for Apple’s iPhone.

Meta describes the app as “Instagram’s text-based conversation app. Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow. Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things – or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions, and creativity with the world.”

Meta has also added an Instagram Threads launch date teaser to the Instagram app. Type “threads” into the search box to show your local launch time and a QR code linking to threads.net.

News:

Snapchat+ hits 4 million subs: Snapchat is seeing the “most success in the new wave of social subscriptions,” reaching four million paying subscribers a year after its initial launch. Snapchat+ features include custom emojis, AI-generated profile backgrounds, and priority replies.

Booking.com AI trip planner: Booking.com has launched an AI trip planner partially powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the US. Through a “conversational” planning experience, users can use the technology to share suggestions on destinations and travel itineraries.

The Reels Creative Manual: Meta has published a guide on how to improve Reels content and help creators speak the ‘language of Reels’ that Meta describes as “a style that’s entertaining, digestible, and relatable all at once.”

Pride ’23 marketing takeaways: AdAge shares the key marketing takeaways from this year’s Pride, analyzing social media mentions, sentiments, and other tracking metrics from the last 30 days.