Bring together people and content on the social web
Social websites unite conversations around everything from popular podcasts to shared interests and hobbies. Each social website is powered by a Surf feed, with sources, filters and moderation controlled by the creator. This new model decentralizes the value of social media, giving power back to the millions of independent creators and communities that, until now, have been stuck in walled gardens. Examples include verge.surf.social wired.surf.social and filmfeed.surf.social
I'm just back from the AtmosphereConf, where I traveled with @mmccue and Ryan Barret by overnight train to join others in work to decentralize the social web!
And now Mike and @marci_mccue are here to launch something that's been over a year in the making: Social Websites.
The idea should be familiar, but the implementation and the scale is what's new.
Using surf.social, anyone can make a Surf feed, publish it with a subdomain and launch it as their own social website.
Feeds can include sources from Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, YouTube, podcast services, blogs and newsletters (RSS). Users can also assign a community hashtag, allowing people to contribute to the feed simply by using the hashtag. They can also set filters and exclude profiles or terms to keep the conversation on topic.
More tools to customize (e.g., adding custom headers and colors) and manage feeds are coming soon. Most importantly, social websites can now be shared outside of Surf, with online communities or linked in websites.
“Bring together people and content on the social web”
Surf Social Websites launched on Product Hunt on April 4th, 2026 and earned 240 upvotes and 22 comments, earning #3 Product of the Day. Social websites unite conversations around everything from popular podcasts to shared interests and hobbies. Each social website is powered by a Surf feed, with sources, filters and moderation controlled by the creator. This new model decentralizes the value of social media, giving power back to the millions of independent creators and communities that, until now, have been stuck in walled gardens. Examples include verge.surf.social wired.surf.social and filmfeed.surf.social
On the analytics side, Surf Social Websites competes within Social Media, Social Networking and Influencer marketing — topics that collectively have 92.5k followers on Product Hunt. The dashboard above tracks how Surf Social Websites performed against the three products that launched closest to it on the same day.
Who hunted Surf Social Websites?
Surf Social Websites was hunted by Chris Messina. A “hunter” on Product Hunt is the community member who submits a product to the platform — uploading the images, the link, and tagging the makers behind it. Hunters typically write the first comment explaining why a product is worth attention, and their followers are notified the moment they post. Around 79% of featured launches on Product Hunt are self-hunted by their makers, but a well-known hunter still acts as a signal of quality to the rest of the community. See the full all-time top hunters leaderboard to discover who is shaping the Product Hunt ecosystem.
For a complete overview of Surf Social Websites including community comment highlights and product details, visit the product overview.
Chris Messina
I'm just back from the AtmosphereConf, where I traveled with @mmccue and Ryan Barret by overnight train to join others in work to decentralize the social web!
And now Mike and @marci_mccue are here to launch something that's been over a year in the making: Social Websites.
The idea should be familiar, but the implementation and the scale is what's new.
Now anyone can build and launch their own corner of the internet and pull in social content from @Bluesky , @Mastodon , @Pixelfed, @Threads (and more!) with familiar publishers like The Verge, Decoder, Vergecast, Version History, WIRED, Rolling Stone Politics, 404 Media, Shutdown Fullcast, The MMQB, Defector: Sports!, All Net, FilmFeed, and The Oregonian participating.
Making a Social Website
Using surf.social, anyone can make a Surf feed, publish it with a subdomain and launch it as their own social website.
Feeds can include sources from Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, YouTube, podcast services, blogs and newsletters (RSS). Users can also assign a community hashtag, allowing people to contribute to the feed simply by using the hashtag. They can also set filters and exclude profiles or terms to keep the conversation on topic.
More tools to customize (e.g., adding custom headers and colors) and manage feeds are coming soon. Most importantly, social websites can now be shared outside of Surf, with online communities or linked in websites.
The Android app is now available and the iOS app is coming soon.