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WHAT IS A CUSTOM FEED‽ A lot of people are still confused about it, so I figured a thread might help clarify. On other social platforms, algorithms are governed by the platform owners. On bsky, algorithms are created, owned, and managed by the community (gimme that means of production bebe).

But what exactly does that mean? The short version is that anybody can create a feed and publish it to bsky. Anybody else can then subscribe to that feed and read it whenever they please.

Even better, an individual can subscribe to any number of feeds. I’m currently subscribed to 8 different feeds, only 1 of which is run by bsky itself. My primary feed is the Game Dev feed, which I actually run. Is this hubris? Probably. Shut up. 🤣

Every feed operates a little differently. For example, the game dev feed will show any skeet that includes any of the following terms: game art game audio game design game dev game jam game lighting game music game narrative game writing screenshot saturday This list even evolves over time.

Others may include all skeets from certain users. For example, the What's Science feed includes skeets from any user that's on a set of lists, as long as that skeet includes the test tube emoji (🧪).

Other feeds can be personalised to the user reading them. Some only go back a few hours, while others go back to the very beginning of bsky. I recommend digging into the Discover Feeds page to see what piques your interest!

Okay, FAQ time! 1️⃣ What happens when I subscribe to a feed? By default, the feed will just show up on your “My Feeds” page. If you go to your “Saved Feeds” page and pin a feed, it’ll then show up as a tab at the top of your home page. That way you can quickly jump between your favourite feeds! ❤️

2️⃣ Who runs the Game Dev/What’s Science/What’s Hot/etc feed? A few — like What’s Hot — are run by bsky. However, most feeds are run by individuals. For example, I run the Game Dev feed (halp plz). It’s entirely up to the creator of the feed how they’re managed and curated.

3️⃣ How do I hack the algorithm? (cont’d) Most engagement here happens when you post things that are legitimately interesting. Instead of trying to farm engagement, be real and engage with topics that you find interesting. With custom feeds, this will _always_ be the best way to grow an audience. ❤️

4️⃣ How do I find feeds to follow? First, there's the official way using the feed search page. However, there's no actual search on this page, and it only shows the top 50 feeds.

4️⃣ How do I find feeds to follow? (cont'd) Fortunately, @jcsalterego.bsky.social built @goodfeeds.co, which allows you to search all public feeds! It's an excellent tool, so use it to find feeds for any topic you're interested in!