Comments on: Why Social Media Networks Monkey with Your Timeline – Here’s Why #69

By: Eric Enge

Eric Enge — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 20:23:46 +0000

In reply to Brad. Thanks for the thoughtful comment Brad. For me, I think social networks are struggling to show their enduring value. There are so many other ways to connect today.

By: Brad

Brad — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 19:36:45 +0000

A bit late to the game but I’ll throw in my two cents anyway. The problem I see with everything explaining the need for algorithms seem to all make the same mistake which is that all users follow a large number of accounts/friends/etc. I personally know many people, and I’m one of them, who are very particular about who we follow. When I say that I want to see it all it isn’t BS. I follow a handful of accounts on each site so it’s not overwhelming to see everything. It seems the fewer people you follow, the more annoying the algorithm is because it becomes ever more apparent of the re-ordering and filtering of the content. The platforms push you to follow more and more people, then mess with your feed saying you’d be overwhelmed by everything. They’re trying to solve a problem they’re causing and (almost all of them) refuse to let you avoid the problem entirely. At least Facebook allows you to temporarily switch over to Most Recents. It’s inexcusable to not have a chronological feed at least as a temporary option somewhere in the settings for people who aren’t following 2,000 accounts. Their metrics may show their algorithms result in more usage from users, but I can promise you the more frustrated I get with my non-chronological timeline, the less I use the services. They’re driving me away by not providing it, not getting me to stay longer.

By: Will

Will — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 05:46:09 +0000

In reply to Mark Traphagen.

Thanks for the reply.
I don’t know that it’s a conspiracy. Facebook already uses the timeline to make ads look like friends are posting things and it stands to reason they will continue to tweak it for marketing. I don’t know if they shift content based on what they like or do t but it would be within their capacity to do so and wouldn’t be a total shocker of social media platforms had an agenda beyond user engagement and marketing
I agree, when someone has a ton of people they follow, there’s no way to see everything and some sorting can be of value. However when a user doesn’t follow many people, or when content makes the most sense when chronological it can be a mess. It doesn’t bother me that the curating happens. It bothers me that they don’t give people the choice to use it or not based off of how they engage the site.

By: Mark Traphagen

Mark Traphagen — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 16:54:16 +0000

In reply to Will. I'm not going to explore any conspiracy theories, but I will address your second point. As I said in the video, even though people say they want to see all of the posts from friends or people they follow, the platforms have tested this and found that when they do show everything, people use the platform less. It becomes overwhelming, and people don't realize how many of their friend's posts really aren't that interesting. It's a classic case of where what people say they want isn't what they show they want by their behavior.

By: Will

Will — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 07:42:20 +0000

I also assume it is a way for them to control what I see. This could be for marketing g reasons and could also be tweaked for political reasons or whatever else might motivate them. Even if it isn’t happening now, the possibility is troubling.
I realize many people might like it, but what I don’t understand is why some don’t give the option to users who want a default reverse chronological. Strava is a recent site to jump on this bandwagon and it’s crazy annoying

By: Ted Pius

Ted Pius — Tue, 24 May 2016 06:41:46 +0000

That was really good explanation. Social media are a big deal of our life and everything about their activities including their algorithms update should be well known to all their users. unfortunately only few people know these info. thanks for taking your time to explain in this video.

By: Mark Traphagen

Mark Traphagen — Mon, 23 May 2016 19:41:50 +0000

In reply to Zara Altair. Zara, did you know you can train it to be better? Remember, an algorithm is only as good as the signals you send it. If your Facebook feed seems "off," you've probably (quite inadvertently) been sending it the wrong signals. Robert Scoble's 22 Tips for Improving Your Facebook Feed really works, and revolutionized my FB experience. You don't have to do all of them, but the more you do the better your feed will become. One update since he published that: if there are people or pages whose content you know you want to see, you can mark them to "show first" in your feed.

By: Zara Altair

Zara Altair — Mon, 23 May 2016 18:31:17 +0000

The Facebook algorithm is way off for me.