Meta’s Threads platform is testing a new custom feeds feature that bears a striking resemblance to one of Bluesky’s most popular capabilities. The introduction of this feature marks Meta’s latest effort to enhance user experience and maintain its competitive edge in the rapidly evolving social media market.
The new functionality, currently in its testing phase, allows Threads users to create and pin topic-specific feeds to their home screen, offering a more personalized and organized approach to content consumption. This development represents a strategic shift from Threads’ previous reliance on its algorithmic “for you” feed and the basic “following feed” system.
The implementation process has been designed with user accessibility in mind. Users can create custom feeds through a straightforward process: searching for a keyword of interest, such as “skincare,” accessing the menu options through the “…” button, and selecting “create new feed.” The system offers substantial flexibility, allowing users to fine-tune these feeds by incorporating specific profiles whose content they wish to follow. Meta has confirmed that users can create up to 128 custom feeds, though the feature is currently limited to a select test group.
This move by Meta comes at a particularly interesting time in the social media landscape, as Bluesky experiences remarkable growth despite its significantly smaller user base. While Threads boasts over 275 million users, Bluesky’s recent performance has been noteworthy, with its user base of just under 17 million showing impressive momentum. The platform recently achieved two significant milestones: adding one million new users in the week following the election and remarkably gaining another million sign-ups in a single day.
The timing of Meta’s feature rollout appears strategic, considering Bluesky’s recent surge in popularity. While Threads continues to grow steadily, adding approximately one million users daily according to Instagram chief Adam Mosseri, Bluesky’s sudden growth spurt suggests an evolving competitive landscape that Meta cannot afford to ignore.
Meta’s approach to custom feeds differs notably from Bluesky’s existing feature. While Bluesky’s implementation requires more technical expertise and offers dozens of user-created algorithmic feeds, Meta has opted for a more user-friendly approach. This simplification could prove crucial in addressing one of the primary user complaints about Threads’ main algorithmic feed while making the feature more accessible to a broader user base.
The introduction of custom feeds on Threads represents more than just a new feature; it signals Meta’s responsiveness to user feedback and its willingness to adapt successful features from competitors. This approach of incorporating and simplifying features that have proven popular on other platforms has been a successful strategy for Meta across its various social media properties.
The development also highlights a broader trend in social media evolution, where platforms increasingly focus on providing users with greater control over their content consumption. This shift away from purely algorithmic feeds to more customizable experiences reflects changing user preferences and the growing demand for more personalized social media interactions.
For users, this new feature could significantly enhance their experience on Threads, offering a more organized and targeted way to consume content. The ability to create multiple custom feeds based on specific interests or topics could help users better manage information overflow, a common challenge in today’s social media landscape.
As social media platforms continue to evolve and compete for user attention, features like custom feeds could become increasingly important differentiators. Meta’s implementation of this feature on Threads, while clearly inspired by Bluesky, demonstrates the company’s commitment to improving its platform while maintaining its characteristic focus on user-friendly design.
The success of this feature could have significant implications for both platforms. For Threads, it could help solidify its position as a major player in the social media space, while for Bluesky, it validates its innovative approach to social media design and could inspire further developments in the platform’s feature set.
As this test phase progresses, the social media industry will be watching closely to see how users respond to Meta’s interpretation of custom feeds and whether this feature will help Threads maintain its growth momentum in the face of increasing competition from platforms like Bluesky.
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