62: Building Threads for Web

The basic version of Threads for web was built in just under three months by two engineers, mirroring the nimble engineering practices we talked about on this podcast before when it came to launching Threads for Android and iOS. In this episode, Pascal is joined by Ally and Kevin, two engineers on the Threads Web team. They talk about how shared infrastructure with other Meta web properties allows them to move fast and how they manage to balance the need to ship new features with the desire to craft delightful experiences for their users.

Got feedback? Send it to us on Threads (https://threads.net/@metatechpod), Twitter (https://twitter.com/metatechpod), Instagram (https://instagram.com/metatechpod) and don't forget to follow our host @passy (https://twitter.com/passy, https://mastodon.social/@passy, and https://threads.net/@passy_). Fancy working with us? Check out https://www.metacareers.com/.

Links

• Threads: https://threads.net

• StyleX: https://stylexjs.com/

• FlowJS: https://flow.org/

• Introducing Meta Llama 3: https://ai.meta.com/blog/meta-llama-3/

• Building custom silicon for the future of AI: https://www.metacareers.com/life/building-custom-silicon-for-the-future-of-ai

• Building Meta's GenAI Infrastructure: https://engineering.fb.com/2024/03/12/data-center-engineering/building-metas-genai-infrastructure/

Timestamps

• Intro 0:06

• Intro Ally and Kevin 1:44

• Why focus on Web? 2:48

• Kevin's contributions 4:42

• Focus on craft 6:18

• Editing Threads 7:34

• Ally's contributions 10:40

• Prioritising delight and shipping features 12:02

• Launching Threads Web 13:30

• Shared Infra 16:13

• Tech Stack 19:15

• The DevX of Meta www 23:51

• Challenges 30:57

• Favourite bit of polish 34:32

• Outtakes 39:18