# Lists vs Feeds: What's The Difference? *(Last updated December 4, 2024)* This post is for those who have read about [[Lists]] and [[Feeds]] but are still a bit confused about the difference. Here is an explanation from Joshua Friedman ( @joshuajfriedman.com ) [on a Bluesky post](https://bsky.app/profile/joshuajfriedman.com/post/3lcgkwlth2s2q): > [!QUOTE] @joshuajfriedman.com on Lists vs Feeds > "The difference between them is that a list is one simple thing—the collected posts from a set of accounts—and a feed can be as complex and varied as any algorithm (it can also do hashtag-like things like only showing you posts with certain keywords)." I should point out, however, that I've seen different terminology used in different places. Some people refer to the default List view (posts and replies by users on the List) as the "List FEED." Confusing? Absolutely! I find that the terminology on Bluesky is still in flux. I wouldn't stress too much about it for now, but just dive in and TRY stuff. Here's an example that I hope will make things more clear. ![[Header-List-KidLit_YA_BookBoosters.jpg|500]] If go to this [KidLit/YA Book Boosters LIST](https://bsky.app/profile/debbieohi.com/lists/3kbnfevi7qi2h), the page will be full of posts, because the default view is Posts. To see the actual List of users, click the "About" tab. ![[About_Circled_List_ToSeeUsers-1200.jpg|500]] Click on the Posts tab will show you ALL the posts people on this List are making, and also posts they are replying to. Personally, I don't find this view that useful, especially if the List has more than a few users. However, using this List as input into a Custom Feed can help fine-tune what you see. ### What I wanted to see: Book recommendations from people who had agreed to the guidelines, which were basically to only push posts to my special KidLit/YA Recommendations feed if they were about other people's books (not their own). ### How I achieved my curation goal: I used BlueskyFeedCreator.com to create a Custom Feed that goes through all posts (not replies) made by people on this List and looks for the emoji combo "📚👍🏼". Those on my List had all agreed to only use the 📚👍🏼 combo on book recommendation posts about other people's books, not their own. You can see the resulting feed in my [KidLit/YA Book Boosts custom feed](https://bsky.app/profile/debbieohi.com/feed/kidlit-ya-recs). ![[KidLitYA-BookBoostFeed-New-v07flat2000.jpg|400]] For a direct comparison of the results, try looking at the [List feed](https://bsky.app/profile/debbieohi.com/lists/3kbnfevi7qi2h) and comparing it to the more highly curated [Custom feed](https://bsky.app/profile/debbieohi.com/feed/kidlit-ya-recs). ## Explainer posts/threads from the Bluesky Community Browse [this thread](https://bsky.app/profile/debbieohi.com/post/3laccofww6m2j). If you have a useful explainer or post, feel free to reply to the thread with a link. ## Related Resources [A List Of ... Lists (and Feeds & Starter Packs)](https://boringstorybook.com/a-list-oflists-and-feeds/) - by Brian Kirby