{"id":880,"date":"2026-03-31T17:33:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T17:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/?p=880"},"modified":"2026-03-31T17:54:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T17:54:48","slug":"oh-we-did-some-stuff-in-this-release-of-gander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/oh-we-did-some-stuff-in-this-release-of-gander\/","title":{"rendered":"Oh, we did some STUFF in this release of Gander."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s a doozie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not because of any one feature, but because a lot of the core experience has been implemented as we originally intended. Feeds, discovery, structure, control, and conversation: the things that, on top of moderation, better deliver a saner social experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve been using Gander already, you\u2019ll feel it pretty quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Five
Your rules. Follow who matters, discover what\u2019s new, and shape your experience your way.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We started with the Home<\/em> screen.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Back when we were getting our designs underway, the community let us know that one of their biggest issues with most social media was how they felt scrolling feeds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On most of the big platforms, feeds are intentionally pretty manipulative. The business model is: consume content ad infinitum (emphasis on ad<\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is that you can scroll forever and rarely see content from the people you care about most.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, even with a chronological feed like Gander\u2019s, it\u2019s actually pretty easy for the people you care about to get lost in the fray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we started with the idea that the home screen should do two things well: help you keep up with the people and content you care about AND help you explore everything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter the For You Page<\/em><\/strong> (or FYP)<\/strong>: a home base where you can find people and content that matters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s controlled by you, rather than the other way around.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a nutshell\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • For You<\/strong>\u2026 your FYP\u2026<\/em> is your space and your people.
    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Feeds<\/strong> are where you go when you want to explore, find new content, and drill into something more specific.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n
    \"Two
    The FYP you control. Built around your people, not a sneaky algorithm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And what\u2019s in the <\/strong>FYP<\/em><\/strong>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019m glad you asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For one, if you\u2019ve been using the app, you\u2019ll likely have seen the term Nest<\/strong><\/em> floating around.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you don\u2019t know already, your Nest is not just folks you follow, but people you want to follow CLOSELY \u2013 the content you don\u2019t want to miss in the feeds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Because\u2026 feeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I know it\u2019s a subtle difference, and it was (almost) a meaningless difference in previous versions of the app. But now your Nest has found its true home in your FYP, so you can peruse important content quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We\u2019ve also introduced the first version of People you may know<\/em> in the FYP, so you can find folks to connect with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Right now, it\u2019s intentionally straightforward: if you follow someone, and they follow someone else, we may suggest that connection to you.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Just a light bit of proximity graphing while the community is still small. And, we think, something that will be important as the community expands and networks grow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This will evolve over time, and importantly, you\u2019ll have control over how it works, including whether you appear in it at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Alongside that, you\u2019ll start seeing recommendations for accounts based on your interests. The goal isn\u2019t volume, it\u2019s relevance and helping you connect with people who care about the same things you do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    While we roll this all out in preparation to distribute you invite codes for your friends, we\u2019re building ways for you to meet people, build community and stay on top of what matters most without relying on pushy algorithms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n
    \"Two
    Better feeds. Follow what matters, explore what interests you.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Speaking of feeds\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019ve been using the app over the past few months, you\u2019ll have seen our feed tabs change a few times\u2026 sometimes more than once in a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It was a bit of a\u2026 pain in the beta. But it was a manageable interim solution while we developed the real deal: a faceted set of tabs we affectionately call the Gander Feeds Universe\u2122 (as of me writing it in this blog post a few minutes ago anyway).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The GFU\u2122 lets you drill down to exactly what you want to read, whether it\u2019s folks you follow, your Nest, or a particular topic. It also acts as a base for what comes next, our Gander Feeds Extended Universe\u2122. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Think: News, Buy & Sell, Local, Events… all with subcategories. Eventually this will include adding and managing your own feeds too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What\u2019s more, in this latest release you can select whether your feed includes only content from the Gander network, or a blend of Gander and Bluesky\u2019s ATmosphere. For now, find the option in your settings. We\u2019ll share more on this in another post. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (BTW\u2026 we\u2019re totally not calling it the GFU)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n
    \"A
    Less counting. More conversation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Buh-bye like counts!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Yes, we ditched the like count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Take a deep breath. I know you may be losing it a little, but there\u2019s some pro-social method to this madness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s no secret that like counts are a bit of useless piece of social proof. At best, they give the post author some warm fuzzies. At worst\u2026 they can be fudged by pile-ons, give a false impression of importance, and generally shape behaviour in ways that don\u2019t always lead to great conversations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And that’s what we think matters: conversation. Since Gander feeds are largely chronological, a great discussion is a better indicator of a hot topic than any single tap can provide. Because Gander doesn’t have an algorithm that rewards engagement without context, they don’t serve much of a structural purpose either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In later releases, we\u2019ll build in some additional reactions, as well as metrics for your posts (including reaction counts), in a way that\u2019s actually useful. In the meantime your likes will still show up in your Notifications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Aaaand\u2026 exhale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n
    \"Web
    Yes, the browser version is coming.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There\u2019s more coming. Always.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    We have a ton of stuff on the way in the next couple of months. Accessibility improvements, dark mode, French, human verification, SMS login, passkeys, and the usual round of fixes and refinements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On the bigger side, we\u2019re working toward Groups, a full browser-based app, and the ability to post across networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This release isn\u2019t about one big idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s about a lot of small, considered ones coming together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A better foundation and a clearer experience. The first version of Gander that feels more like what it\u2019s supposed to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Stay tuned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    It\u2019s a doozie. Not because of any one feature, but because a lot of the core experience has been implemented as we originally intended. Feeds, discovery, structure, control, and conversation: the things that, on top of moderation, better deliver a saner social experience.  If you\u2019ve been using Gander already, you\u2019ll feel it pretty quickly. We…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Ben Waldman","author_link":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/author\/admin\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/blog-300x147.png","lang":"en","translations":{"en":880,"fr":893},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/blog.png",1544,758,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/blog-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/blog-300x147.png",300,147,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/blog-768x377.png",768,377,true],"large":["https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/blog-1024x503.png",1024,503,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/blog-1536x754.png",1536,754,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/blog.png",1544,758,false],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/blog.png",300,147,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/blog.png",400,196,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/blog.png",600,295,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ben Waldman","author_link":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/author\/admin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"It\u2019s a doozie. Not because of any one feature, but because a lot of the core experience has been implemented as we originally intended. Feeds, discovery, structure, control, and conversation: the things that, on top of moderation, better deliver a saner social experience.  If you\u2019ve been using Gander already, you\u2019ll feel it pretty quickly. We...","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Uncategorized<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Uncategorized<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 1 month ago","modified":"Updated 1 month ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on March 31, 2026","modified":"Updated on March 31, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on March 31, 2026 5:33 pm","modified":"Updated on March 31, 2026 5:54 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","pll_sync_post":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=880"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":892,"href":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880\/revisions\/892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gandersocial.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}