I've been thinking about how we could potentially enhance the Lemmy experience, and I wonder if anyone else sees potential in incorporating a feature similar to Bluesky's Custom Feeds or Mastodon's Fedialgo?
Here's my thought process:
Why Custom Feeds?
User Empowerment: Custom feeds allow users to tailor their experience, moving beyond the limitations of chronological or "popular" sorting.
Discovery: They can help users find content and communities they might not encounter otherwise.
Flexibility: Users could create feeds based on specific interests, keywords, or even complex criteria.
New User Onboarding: Many new users join Lemmy from algorithm-driven platforms like Xitter, Reddit, Tiktok, Instagram, Bluesky, etc. and may find the manual nature of Lemmy's current feed system limiting. Custom feeds could help to smooth that transition.
Bluesky's Approach
Bluesky's implementation of Custom Feeds is particularly interesting:
Users can create and share their own algorithm-driven feeds
It promotes algorithmic transparency and user choice
The feature has been well-received for its innovative approach to content curation
https://bsky.social/about/blog/7-27-2023-custom-feeds
https://bsky.social/about/blog/3-30-2023-algorithmic-choice
https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/26/23739174/bluesky-custom-feeds-algorithms-twitter-alternative
Mastodon's Fedialgo
Alternatively, we could look at Fedialgo, which:
Allows for custom feed creation within the Mastodon ecosystem
Is open-source and federated, aligning well with Lemmy's principles
https://github.com/ronilaukkarinen/fedialgo
Potential Implementation for Lemmy
User-Created Algorithms: Allow users to define their own feed algorithms using a simple interface.
Shareable Feeds: Enable users to share their custom feeds, fostering community curation.
Integration with Lemmy's Existing Features: Ensure the custom feeds work well with Lemmy's communities and cross-instance functionality.
Open-Source Approach: Keep the feature open-source and possibly federated, in line with Lemmy's ethos.
I, unfortunately, do not have the time, energy, or knowledge to be able to attempt something like this.
What do you all think?
Could this be a valuable addition to Lemmy?
I'd love to hear your thoughts, concerns, or ideas for potential implementation.