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news
Strava makes activity feed non-chronological and launches blog posts for all users (+ video)
Strava has introduced a new activity feed that it says ‘makes it easier for athletes to see what’s going on in their athletic world’ – but which some might at first find confusingly non-chronological. The activity tracking site has also launched its ‘posts’ feature for all users.
The new blogging feature has been live for select athletes since May. Strava says that it will allow users to “share stories, post photos, ask questions, share useful tips and articles and engage with other athletes.”
In simple terms, it turns Strava into more of a sport-themed social network by allowing people to upload non-activity content to the activity feed.
The worth of the feature will no doubt be dictated by who you follow, how interesting they are, and how enthusiastic they are about posting (‘too enthusiastic’ of course being the greatest danger).
Video: Strava asks athletes to reject image-conscious social media via selfies
You may also have noticed that the activity feed itself has been tweaked. Rather than being purely chronological, as it was before, there is now an algorithm at work meaning it will push photos and group activities towards the top.
Many users have previously called for a series of filters to achieve something similar. They say that being able to exclude rides shorter than a certain distance, or which are tagged as being indoors or as a commute, would improve their experience of the site.
We’re not seeing anything along those lines at the moment and there’s no mention in the press release either, so as far as we can tell, you’re pretty much at the mercy of the algorithm.
Posts are available now to the entire Strava community, while the new feed will be fully available later this week (although we’re seeing it already).
“Strava is an active community of people who are passionate about their sports,” said James Quarles, Strava CEO. “We want to create more ways for the community to share their interests and expertise. Posts and the new feed make Strava the best place to tell a story about someone you met on the trails, ask a question about new gear or to seek kindred spirits to help achieve your goals.”
Update: A petition with the self-explanatory title Bring Back the Strava Chronological Feed! has already been launched.
It states: “Strava have recently changed the news feed to be algorithm based like facebook and instagram instead of chronological order. The new feed is a jumbled up mess with activities from days before taking preference over newer activities at the top of the feed. They received an overwhelming backlash on their blog, support page and social media but have chosen not to listen to their loyal users who have been uploading their activities for years.
“We want Strava to either bring back the chronological feed or at least give us the option to view the feed in chronological order.”
Strava has also set up a feedback form, if you’d like to have your say.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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12 comments
Petition signed and feedback left for all the good it will do. As a premium subscriber I think I might go somewhere else when my subscription is up for renewal.
This is very annoying, they could at least let you change it back - even Facebook does allow a recent view. This is what happens when you hire ex-Instagram staff and the main social channels all copy each other's new features (look at banners, avatar shapes, tool bars) and now Strava want's to become a sporting Facebook rather than continuing it's niche well.
I will continue logging my rides but not viewing feeds as much. Unfortunately only app uninstalls & canceling Pro subs would get their attention, change.org protests won't. I have left feedback on their survey hopefully more will too
Well That sucks, I like(d) the chronological ordering of Strava. But for what I use it for, it won't change much for me.
I can bet some folk will complain with less kudos being dished out, I use it to track efforts and my own efforts against segments so don't care about that bit. The competitive bit is good between mates but I know folk who will target segments if they lose their KOM's...
Strava needs to start doing a few more things than just fucking with the timeline chronology. They need to add the ability to remove pros from segment KOMs so you can see the amateurs that hold it.
They also need to add that if you change your FTP/THR then it doesnt go back and alter all your old rides/runs.
I think the time has come to ditch Strava. After getting on it from the early days (my athlete number is sub-5000) I used it because it had some handy features which have now been watered down, and the social aspect but now I have completely unknown people giving kudos for almost effortless rides.
The best thing about it nowadays is Veloviewer.
I've long since gone 'private' and removed followers whom I don't know (or whose opinions I don't care for). I also follow only five friends. I can view others (and 'kudos') through 'clubs' or if they're riding with followed friends. Mostly though, I don't give a rats arse about it. Useful for scrolling back through and if only to muse how much shorter my rides are becoming, and how much slower.
What a mess! Does anyone know if it will at least be possible to upload photos to an activity now (via the webpage on a PC, rather than on a smartphone)? I couldn't see any added functionality, but it is generally more difficult to see what is going on now withthe new look dashboard.
Of more interest to me are things like weather, average speed, elevation gained as a percentage of overall distance, suffer score if available. This is what defines the ride to me, not whether someone was in a group, or stopped to take a pic.
In the meantime, chronological order was just fine.
If they wanted to include something useful, how about some sort of 'matched ride' feature, same as for running, so I can see how I did vs previous attempts. Before anyone suggests that's what segments are for, that doesn't work if you are starting/finishing in your privacy zone.
Do not like
and then there will paid adverts in the feed
and then
and then
I believe that you may have hit the nail firmly on the head.
This move makes absolutely no sense unless you were looking at ways to create a more 'fluid' environment upon which you could seed adverts.
To be fair, Strava needs to find a sustainable revenue stream soon... the are getting too big to survive in its current format.
Losing the chronological order seems illogical to me too. As for 'non-activity posts', well that can simply be got round by unfollowing said people, but is that what Strava want? If it ain't broke don't fix it, but I guess this is all being done with a view to enhancing future income...
There's a change org petition just now to have this returned to the prior more sensible layout.
Why is that 'social' apps think non-chronological feeds are a good idea. It's shit with Instagram and it'll be shit here. By all means allow people to filter themselves, but this blows. Hard.