Mark Zuckerberg says Threads is testing custom feeds for certain profiles or topics; the Threads' version seems easier to use than Bluesky's custom feeds
RE: https://www.threads.net/... Herb Scribner / @herb.scribner : This was needed for a long time. Looks like the Bluesky momentum has encouraged Meta to move on this. Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : The @threads team stays cooking. 🧑🍳 @thetwolauras : Bluesky influence? Rich Miller / @techjournalism : Threads could have done this ages ago, and users would have been thrilled. But they wait until folks go to Bluesky and go “HOLY COW, LISTS AND STARTER PACKS WOOOHOOO!!” Then it's suddenly a good idea. Alex Belenky / @realsfdynasty : Better get on it, Zuck. Bluesky is already ahead of the game in terms of features. Threads need significantly stronger features to have long-term staying power. Customized feeds are a good idea. Let's also get chronological feeds going. Bluesky: A.C. Slater / @acee-slater.bsky.social : Threads is just a weird place. Also I genuinely find it hard to focus and actually read people's content and engage with it. It's wack. [embedded post] Kev Lawson / @editkev.football : The algo's suck. The timelines suck. The adverts and data selling, really suck. [embedded post] Sean Hodgdon / @hodgdon.bsky.social : Way too late-custom feeds aren't worth shit if the moderation is still run by Mosseri and Zuck [embedded post] @lc-in-ca.bsky.social : Nice try, Threads, but I'm pretty sure “ease of use” isn't what is now driving millions of us to Bluesky. Eric / @edavis.dev : they scared [embedded post] Peter Lewis / @neighbor.bsky.social : @bsky.app would really benefit implementing feed creation that works more like this [embedded post] Brian / @blemley.us : Zuckerberg realizing people want their own feeds is nice but will he keep his algorithms out of it? I can't imagine. [embedded post] @proggrrl.bsky.social : In other words, he's going to steal several excellent blue sky features to compete. Definitely tracks. X: Rat King / @mikeisaac : you can tell when Facebook is sweating when they put out new threads user numbers apropos of nothing AND start to clone features of a fast growing competitor all within 24 hours [image] Sarah Perez / @sarahpereztc : As Bluesky surges, Threads begins testing custom feeds https://techcrunch.com/...
The VergeEmma Roth
Context & Ripple Effects
Threads launched with rapid early sign-up growth, but this update shifts attention from initial reach toward how people organize what they see. The test arrives as Bluesky is presented in the coverage as a competitive reference point for user-controlled feeds.
The move also became part of a broader Threads product push: subsequent coverage describes default-feed controls and curated profile collections, extending customization from viewing into discovery.
First-order effects
Selected Threads users can test feeds built around particular profiles or topics, giving them an alternative to the app’s primary ranking-driven experience.
Threads gains a more direct answer to Bluesky’s feed customization, while Bluesky’s differentiated user-control feature faces a closer product comparison.
Second-order effects
Feed choice makes follow and discovery features more consequential: Threads can pair custom feeds with topic-based profile collections to help users populate them.
Competing social apps face pressure to make recommendation controls legible and low-friction, not merely available as advanced settings.
Third-order effects
If these tests become standard, social-feed competition may increasingly turn on configurable distribution—who or what users can prioritize—alongside the quality of algorithmic recommendations.
The durable constraint is usability: more feed controls can improve agency, but they can also fragment attention unless platforms make setup and discovery simple.
The trend: Social platforms are blending algorithmic ranking with user-configurable feeds as competition makes audience control a core product dimension.
Let's have a feed just for ‘Complaints’. About anything and everything. That way complaints can have a home and not ruin everything else. For example, my comment right here would belong there.
Reason BlueSky seems [potentially] more appealing than Threads is bc it is what Twitter used to be like. That's where it seems Zuck missed the boat. People aren't looking for something new, they're looking for a replica of loved before it became toxic. As a developer, it's muc…
Threads could have done this ages ago, and users would have been thrilled. But they wait until folks go to Bluesky and go “HOLY COW, LISTS AND STARTER PACKS WOOOHOOO!!” Then it's suddenly a good idea.
Better get on it, Zuck. Bluesky is already ahead of the game in terms of features. Threads need significantly stronger features to have long-term staying power. Customized feeds are a good idea. Let's also get chronological feeds going.
Threads is just a weird place. Also I genuinely find it hard to focus and actually read people's content and engage with it. It's wack. [embedded post]
you can tell when Facebook is sweating when they put out new threads user numbers apropos of nothing AND start to clone features of a fast growing competitor all within 24 hours [image]