What is an activity stream?
An activity stream, otherwise known as an activity feed, is a digital feed of aggregated information containing recent activities and conversations. The activities shown are in some way relevant to the user. Users subscribe to or follow other people, topics, or accounts to receive activity updates.
Activity streams are most notable for their use in social network platforms, allowing individuals and companies across all industries to connect with each other, communicate about interests, and share data in a public forum.
Types of activity streams
Activity streams have different features and layouts. Below are three of the most common types of activity streams:
- Aggregated activity streams combine updates from the people, topics, or accounts a user follows into one update. This type reduces the number of updates by combining similar items.
- Notification streams let users know when they’ve been tagged in something or when other users do certain actions. These feeds show activities like unread messages, mentions, task assignments, replies, and likes.
- Flat activity streams give users updates about people they’re following. These feeds are separated into individual activities.
Basic elements of activity streams
Elements included in an activity stream are ultimately up to the software providers. Some of the basic elements are:
- Activities logged: The purpose of an activity stream is to highlight different activities. These can include notifications, tasks, meetings, updates, and interactions.
- Users: Identifying information, like names and photos, indicate who has completed activities. While photos are not always included, names could comprise email addresses, usernames, or real names.
Benefits of activity streams
Activity streams are beneficial for various reasons. Some of the primary advantages are below:
- Staying up to speed: Activity streams keep users informed. No matter what happens, subscribers want to be in the loop. A stream eliminates the need for multiple forms of communication to convey this information.
- Personalized content: Users can enjoy customized experiences highlighting the content they want to interact with. Personalized content and recommendations keep users engaged and provide the most value.
- Easy to use: Users continue to use a software system if it’s simple to use. Activity feeds boost ease of use by summarizing information and reducing the amount of time a user needs to find an update, which increases social engagement.
- Building community: Activity feeds help build communities by keeping users up-to-date with people they follow or connect with. Having a sense of community can also encourage users to revisit the software, creating customer loyalty.
Activity stream best practices
Activity streams vary based on the platform. However, a few standard best practices achieve the best results:
- Ensure content is relevant. Activity streams are for the user to read or engage with, so they have to be designed to provide relevant content. Customizable streams are an easy way to enable individual relevance.
- Keep it simple. Since activity streams include different activity types, the design and format vary. Activity types and the entire stream should be simple and easy to scan. Remember that these are quick updates, so making the content browsable helps keep users engaged.
- Share timely and recent updates. Activities that are too far in the past become irrelevant to users. Activity streams should be geared toward the present and any activities that happened within the last couple of days.
Alyssa Towns
Alyssa Towns works in communications and change management and is a freelance writer for G2. She mainly writes SaaS, productivity, and career-adjacent content. In her spare time, Alyssa is either enjoying a new restaurant with her husband, playing with her Bengal cats Yeti and Yowie, adventuring outdoors, or reading a book from her TBR list.
