news Meta is testing custom feeds for Threads

[Cpvr]

It's very similar to a popular Bluesky feature.​

As the competition between Bluesky and Threads heats up, Meta is adding a new feature to Threads that will likely look familiar to Bluesky users: custom feeds. The Meta-owned service is starting to test a feature that allows users to pin topic-based feeds to the home screen of the app.

The change will give people additional feeds beyond the algorithmic “for you,” which will remain the default view, and their “following feed.” Users can add custom feeds by searching a keyword like “skincare” and then tapping the “...” menu and selecting “create new feed.” These feeds can be further customized by adding specific profiles of people whose posts you want to see in that feed. Users are able to add up to 128 custom feeds in the app, a Meta spokesperson said, though it’s still only a test for now so not all users have access to it just yet.

The feature is similar in many ways to Bluesky’s custom feeds, which the company introduced last year. But while there are dozens of user-created algorithmic feeds in the app, making a new one is still a technical process. Meta’s version of the feature, however, is more straightforward. It could also address some users’ complaints about Threads’ main algorithmic feed.

The latest Threads feature comes as Bluesky has had a particularly good month. Though the service is still far smaller than Threads, which has more than 275 million users, Bluesky, which has just under 17 million users at the time of this writing, has been gaining momentum. The decentralized service added a million new users in the week following the election, and added another million new sign-ups in a single day this week. That’s striking considering Threads has also been growing by about a million users a day, according to a recent post from Instagram chief Adam Mosseri. If Bluesky is able to sustain that level of growth for very long, Meta may feel even more pressure to borrow some ideas from its smaller rival.

Source: https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-testing-custom-feeds-for-threads-183948414.html

 

[1stop]

This is returning the power to the content creators. The ability to have control over my content sounds absolutely amazing. I haven't used this feature but a lot of people are talking about it on social platforms.

 

[Harsh World]

While I probably won't use either service, I'm glad they finally allow us to tailor results to what we want instead of guessing based on our behavior.

A feed can quickly become cluttered once you move on from liking one thing to another, and it stays that way for a minute.

 

[ActionAce]

I knew that more tech giants might want to do the same when I read about Bluesky’s success in prioritising user or content privacy. This is what we need in the tech industry. There should be healthy competition, unlike the monopoly we used to experience.

 

[NatureFreak]

Threads is the last social media platform I will hop unto. What's Bluesky? Is that also like threads? And why are they competing?

 

[Cpvr]

Threads is the last social media platform I will hop unto. What's Bluesky? Is that also like threads? And why are they competing?

Bluesky is similar to Twitter and Threads. All three platforms are in competition with one another.

 

[Shawn]

It's very similar to a popular Bluesky feature.​

As the competition between Bluesky and Threads heats up, Meta is adding a new feature to Threads that will likely look familiar to Bluesky users: custom feeds. The Meta-owned service is starting to test a feature that allows users to pin topic-based feeds to the home screen of the app.

The change will give people additional feeds beyond the algorithmic “for you,” which will remain the default view, and their “following feed.” Users can add custom feeds by searching a keyword like “skincare” and then tapping the “...” menu and selecting “create new feed.” These feeds can be further customized by adding specific profiles of people whose posts you want to see in that feed. Users are able to add up to 128 custom feeds in the app, a Meta spokesperson said, though it’s still only a test for now so not all users have access to it just yet.

The feature is similar in many ways to Bluesky’s custom feeds, which the company introduced last year. But while there are dozens of user-created algorithmic feeds in the app, making a new one is still a technical process. Meta’s version of the feature, however, is more straightforward. It could also address some users’ complaints about Threads’ main algorithmic feed.

The latest Threads feature comes as Bluesky has had a particularly good month. Though the service is still far smaller than Threads, which has more than 275 million users, Bluesky, which has just under 17 million users at the time of this writing, has been gaining momentum. The decentralized service added a million new users in the week following the election, and added another million new sign-ups in a single day this week. That’s striking considering Threads has also been growing by about a million users a day, according to a recent post from Instagram chief Adam Mosseri. If Bluesky is able to sustain that level of growth for very long, Meta may feel even more pressure to borrow some ideas from its smaller rival.

Source: https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-testing-custom-feeds-for-threads-183948414.html

Meta is good at copying others, LOL.

Of course, if they see something else doing well, they're going to "adopt" that feature and integrate it into their platform.

But Meta has been good to me. So, I'm all for it

 

[MidnightMuse]

When one platform gets a feature, all others follow. We have seen this with short-form content, so this is not a surprising development. However, what surprises me is that Meta is giving users this much control over what they see on their feeds.

 

[Immortal]

Meta is good at copying others, LOL.

That's very true. They will try to buy companies and if they cannot, they will just copy features. Maybe they learned this from Chinese as Chinese are very good at copying something. I hear Zuckerberg speaks fluent Chinese.

 

[mara]

When one platform gets a feature, all others follow. We have seen this with short-form content, so this is not a surprising development. However, what surprises me is that Meta is giving users this much control over what they see on their feeds.

Meta could be scared of Bluesky, which is why they’re copying a lot of their features.
It’s kind of odd that they’re giving their users more control when ZUCk doesn’t like to do that.

 

[Unlocked]

I haven't used Facebook or Instagram for years now myself. I have used Facebook a little bit purely for work purposes, but no other reason.

Meta products have always frustrated me. Support is non-existent, moderation is poor, and I find Facebook especially to just be a breeding ground for hate, discrimination and trouble. The amount of times in my work I've come across serious life-altering arguments & even crimes committed as a result on content on Facebook or Instagram is truly unbelievable.

While I digress slightly from the original topic in noting this, I don't see any danger of these sorts of features replacing traditional forums. Yes, forums have been slowly declining in activity over the last ten years especially, and I think the general trend of decline will slowly continue, but there will be a core base of people like myself who still love forums for many years to come - that much I'm certain of!

 

[ROFLMAO]

Meta is adding a new feature to Threads that will likely look familiar to Bluesky users: custom feeds.

The ability to have control over my content sounds absolutely amazing.

And now ROFLMAO copied Bluesky. Your What's new page is now customized to the forums and threads you want to see, with the caveat of some forums and threads being unable to be hidden.

To be fair, we had this feature in our pocket since a little after our core forum's software of the XF 2.2's release (September 29, 2020). We just never ported it over to XF 2.3 due to the breaking changes because there was little use for it until a forum under management grew in size to utilize it again.

 

[Unlocked]

And now ROFLMAO copied Bluesky. Your What's new page is now customized to the forums and threads you want to see, with the caveat of some forums and threads being unable to be hidden.

To be fair, we had this feature in our pocket since a little after our core forum's software of the XF 2.2's release (September 29, 2020). We just never ported it over to XF 2.3 due to the breaking changes because there was little use for it until a forum under management grew in size to utilize it again.

I happen to think the view of the landing page of the forum is very unique here, and actually quite appealing. As a new member, it's quite easy to quickly navigate the site, and it's good seeing all new posts made and info about them in one place prominently.

It's not a feature I've seen much at other forums, and I've definitely not seen a layout like this, so it's brilliantly unique and I personally like it.

 

[Reelz]

The custom feeds is quite good. I like the idea of getting the feeds of topics that interest you . For instance, I like beauty or sport activities. This makes you view the content of your interest.