4 ms·

I have to admit, for better or for worse, YouTube is getting better at predicting new things for me to watch. That is probably because I consistently follow ver

I have to admit, for better or for worse, YouTube is getting better at predicting new things for me to watch. That is probably because I consistently follow very narrow types of channels and watch those channels as my main form of video consumption. If I watch an abnormal video linked from a friend or something, that does tend to drastically alter what it recommends. "Oh you watched a weird cartoon edit dubbed with an old song? Here, we have thousands of those to recommend!" Honestly, I'm just glad it has mostly stopped only recommending videos I've recently watched. That's worse than a bad recommendation.

matt_wulfeck 9y ago
Me too. I recently went to YouTube to see examples of a specific type of stone fruit grafting and was not disappointed. So many great examples for such a niche thing.
- dithering 9y ago
  Instructional content from passionate hobbyists is where YT shines, I think. My recommendations are full of great content from niche channels, plus some music videos.
terminalcommand 9y ago
I feel the same way with reddit. But lately I've been hearing of the term "filter bubble". Social media is showing us exactly what we want and nothing else. We live in it, but have no idea what we're missing. The messages that are pushed to us probably does not paint the whole picture -hence we like it-. For example I only read HN and tech related sites. I have no idea what's going on in the world outside the world of tech :). Lately I've been trying to read the printed version of the economist in PDF form, it surprised me that it didn't feel like reading a news site. Everything was structured, well written etc. I can recommend following periodical publications for news, rather than only looking at feeds and visiting sites.
- code_duck 9y ago
  It’s eye-opening to start a brand new Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or reddit account and view the feed and recommendations they give to a fresh account. For instance, on Instagram I followed one middle eastern celebrity and my Explore tab became filled with pregnant ladies’ bellies and babies.
  - tajen 9y ago
    I created a new Youtube account with 18-year-old persona, and all I see is muscle and how to get fit. Before watching any video.
- solarkraft 9y ago
  > Social media is showing us exactly what we want and nothing else. But the bubble is not what I want. > The messages that are pushed to us probably does not paint the whole picture -hence we like it-. This is why I don't. I hate it. I talked to a Microsoft guy who wanted to sell me on the great future of AI recommendations a few years back. His argument was that when the AI know I like to discover things it'll recommend me new stuff. That hasn't happened to far. I only start getting recommendations for things I have searched for, usually. Sometimes, rarely, I get some new stuff that I'm incredibly happy about. But what they can do apparently is recommend me favorite topics of somebody I spend physical time with (the creepy "oh we just talked about this yesterday" moments).
- drharby 9y ago
  The filters are so biased it isnt even funny anymore. My lense to the net varies on my anonymity tools utilized and it makes me kinda disappointed

matt_wulfeck 9y ago

Me too. I recently went to YouTube to see examples of a specific type of stone fruit grafting and was not disappointed. So many great examples for such a niche thing.

dithering 9y ago
Instructional content from passionate hobbyists is where YT shines, I think. My recommendations are full of great content from niche channels, plus some music videos.

terminalcommand 9y ago

I feel the same way with reddit. But lately I've been hearing of the term "filter bubble". Social media is showing us exactly what we want and nothing else. We live in it, but have no idea what we're missing. The messages that are pushed to us probably does not paint the whole picture -hence we like it-. For example I only read HN and tech related sites. I have no idea what's going on in the world outside the world of tech :). Lately I've been trying to read the printed version of the economist in PDF form, it surprised me that it didn't feel like reading a news site. Everything was structured, well written etc. I can recommend following periodical publications for news, rather than only looking at feeds and visiting sites.

code_duck 9y ago
It’s eye-opening to start a brand new Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or reddit account and view the feed and recommendations they give to a fresh account. For instance, on Instagram I followed one middle eastern celebrity and my Explore tab became filled with pregnant ladies’ bellies and babies.
- tajen 9y ago
  I created a new Youtube account with 18-year-old persona, and all I see is muscle and how to get fit. Before watching any video.
solarkraft 9y ago
> Social media is showing us exactly what we want and nothing else. But the bubble is not what I want. > The messages that are pushed to us probably does not paint the whole picture -hence we like it-. This is why I don't. I hate it. I talked to a Microsoft guy who wanted to sell me on the great future of AI recommendations a few years back. His argument was that when the AI know I like to discover things it'll recommend me new stuff. That hasn't happened to far. I only start getting recommendations for things I have searched for, usually. Sometimes, rarely, I get some new stuff that I'm incredibly happy about. But what they can do apparently is recommend me favorite topics of somebody I spend physical time with (the creepy "oh we just talked about this yesterday" moments).
drharby 9y ago
The filters are so biased it isnt even funny anymore. My lense to the net varies on my anonymity tools utilized and it makes me kinda disappointed