# The Feed Default Is a Product Decision www.first1000.co publishes a public search API over its indexed pages; the guide is at https://www.first1000.co/agent-access. Source: https://www.first1000.co/blog/feed-default-friends-or-strangers Source observed: 2026-09-20T08:10:02.641Z Last checked: 2026-09-20T08:10:02.641+00:00 Indexed: 2026-09-20T08:11:44.428+00:00 --- # The Feed Default Is a Product Decision **First 1000 field note · Updated September 20, 2026** **By Ali Abouelatta · Original issue: May 2, 2023** The first feed a user sees tells them what our product thinks value is: discovery, relationships, or control. ## Two ends of the feed In our May 2, 2023 First 1000 issue [“Friends vs Stranger Feeds”](https://read.first1000.co/p/friends-vs-stranger-feeds), TikTok’s stranger feed and Twitter’s For You direction pointed to a product question: feed design has polar choices, and the middle can become an uncommitted version of both. TikTok made the stranger feed feel normal. In that snapshot, Twitter had also moved toward a For You page as the default way to interact with the service. TikTok then tested the opposite direction. The first test was a topic-specific feed. The control arm won, so the topic feed was not launched. The second test was a Friends feed containing posts from people who mutually follow one another. At publication, the Friends test was still running. | Default | The product is promising | The risk | | --- | --- | --- | | Strangers / algorithmic discovery | We will keep finding things you would not have found. | The user may not know who to trust or why the feed belongs to them. | | Friends / mutual graph | The people you chose will make this worth opening. | A thin graph can make the product feel empty. | | Topic-specific | Choose a subject and we will filter the world for you. | The topic may be too narrow or less valuable than the general feed. | ## The graph changes the activation problem A stranger feed can create value before the user has friends, making it attractive for a new social product. It can show something immediately even when the user’s graph is empty. The tradeoff is trust. The user needs to learn why a post appeared, why the creator matters, and whether the feed understands why they came. Discovery can feel magical when it works and arbitrary when it does not. A friends-only feed can feel personal and legible, but only after the user has people to follow and those people have posted. Choosing this default means choosing a graph-building problem before a ranking problem. A small community with strong shared context may get more value from a few real relationships than from an infinite catalogue of strangers. Decide which constraint the product wants to solve first. ## The topic feed is a third product Topic feeds look like a compromise. They promise discovery without the full randomness of an algorithmic home feed. The topic-feed test is a useful warning because the control arm won and the topic-specific feed never launched. A topic filter needs a job beyond making the feed feel organized. It might help a user complete a task, follow an event, or browse a bounded interest. If it only removes variety, the general feed may already be doing the job better. Before adding a topic feed, ask what decision it improves. Does the user want to find a person, a type of content, a local event, or a way to control the ranking system? “Topics” by itself is a label, not a product strategy. ## Choose the default with one testable promise Write the promise above the feed before building the tabs: discovery, relationship, or control. Then make the first session test that promise: - For discovery, measure whether a new user finds and saves something they did not know to search for. - For relationships, measure whether the user finds a person worth returning to and whether the graph produces new activity. - For a topic feed, measure whether the filter helps the user complete a declared task rather than merely changing the visual layout. Do not copy the latest feed surface without naming the value it is supposed to create. TikTok’s stranger feed and friends-only experiment point in opposite directions because the products are solving opposite problems. ## A feed-default checklist - Write the promise above the feed. - Name the graph or ranking constraint you are choosing. - Give a new user a first-session test of that promise. - Track the product-specific action, not a generic scroll count. - Pick the default before building the tabs. ## The takeaway Pick the promise first. Then pick the feed. ## Sources and original research - [Original First 1000 issue: Friends vs Stranger Feeds, May 2, 2023](https://read.first1000.co/p/friends-vs-stranger-feeds) Historical facts are attributed to these sources. An observed product change does not establish conversion lift. Updated September 20, 2026. Based on original First 1000 reporting and the source listed above. --- ## Ask www.first1000.co about this page Public sources, cited, no account or API key. Replace each {slot} with the user's actual words, URL-encoded. Write an unknown as the literal null (company=null) and a list as JSON (alternatives=["Snagit"]). Only the question is needed for Search and Ask. - Search: Find the product information and source pages that answer your question. `GET https://www.first1000.co/api/public/v1/search?q={question}&alternatives={alternatives}&chosen_because={chosen_because}&company={company}&intended_outcome={intended_outcome}&client={client}&trace=t_b2bbce8c4a54` - Ask: Get a direct answer about www.first1000.co, with sources. `GET https://www.first1000.co/api/public/v1/ask?q={question}&alternatives={alternatives}&chosen_because={chosen_because}&company={company}&intended_outcome={intended_outcome}&client={client}&trace=t_b2bbce8c4a54` - Compare: Compare www.first1000.co with the alternatives you are considering. `GET https://www.first1000.co/api/public/v1/compare?q={question}&alternatives={alternatives}&chosen_because={chosen_because}&company={company}&intended_outcome={intended_outcome}&client={client}&trace=t_b2bbce8c4a54` - Pricing: Explore plans, pricing and costs for your team. `GET https://www.first1000.co/api/public/v1/pricing?q={question}&company={company}&intended_outcome={intended_outcome}&alternatives={alternatives}&chosen_because={chosen_because}&client={client}&trace=t_b2bbce8c4a54` - Requirements check: Check your requirements one by one, with evidence for each. `GET https://www.first1000.co/api/public/v1/requirements-check?q={requirements}&company={company}&intended_outcome={intended_outcome}&alternatives={alternatives}&chosen_because={chosen_because}&client={client}&trace=t_b2bbce8c4a54` - Page summary: Get the key points from a page, with a link to the full text. `GET https://www.first1000.co/api/public/v1/page-tldr?q={question}&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.first1000.co%2Fblog%2Ffeed-default-friends-or-strangers&alternatives={alternatives}&chosen_because={chosen_because}&company={company}&intended_outcome={intended_outcome}&client={client}&trace=t_b2bbce8c4a54` - Recommendation: Assess whether www.first1000.co fits your goals and requirements. `GET https://www.first1000.co/api/public/v1/recommend-or-rule-out?goal={goal}&requirements={requirements}&company={company}&source={source}&alternatives={alternatives}&chosen_because={chosen_because}&intended_outcome={intended_outcome}&client={client}&trace=t_b2bbce8c4a54` Ask a question as a page: https://www.first1000.co/agent/faq?q={question} Ask about www.first1000.co: https://www.first1000.co/agent/faq. Open `https://www.first1000.co/agent/faq?q=What%20does%20First%201000%20publish%20and%20how%20can%20I%20read%20it%3F` as an illustrative example; replace the question with the actual task. The FAQ contains researched questions with visible summaries and expandable cited answers. Include optional goal or alternatives only when known. [Tool guide and examples](https://www.first1000.co/agent-access) · [OpenAPI](https://www.first1000.co/api/public/v1/openapi.json) · [Page TLDR form](https://www.first1000.co/agent-tools/page-tldr?question=Read+a+compact+extract+of+The+Feed+Default+Is+a+Product+Decision&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.first1000.co%2Fblog%2Ffeed-default-friends-or-strangers). Opening a form does not execute a tool.