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If instagram's product KPIs were more inline with what I wanted as a user, this would be great...but they're not and my explore feed is frequently filled with m

If instagram's product KPIs were more inline with what I wanted as a user, this would be great...but they're not and my explore feed is frequently filled with models, child musical prodigies, and other popcorn-esque content. Compared that to Spotify, whose goal I presume is to get me to listen to more music and buy tickets and merch through their occasional marketing. I'm a music snob but damn does Spotify get me great recommendations on new releases, my discover weekly, and more. Not only that, I've bought tickets through their frequent listener promotions probably more than 10 times at this point.

uoaei 7y ago
I've had terrible luck the past couple years with Spotify's Discover Weekly. Last time I remember it being good was Fall 2016. Now my "Discover" Weekly playlist has me "discovering" the same exact songs over and over. I've been pigeonholed way beyond what I thought possible. Do other users really engage with the same 10 songs over and over and over that this is the default behavior of their recommendation engine? I get "Discover" tracks which are from the same album I have downloaded to my phone!
- volkk 7y ago
  i have a separate problem. i got a puppy and there was a time where i had to just put in headphones while i was crate training him, and listen to rain sounds to fall asleep, instead of his cries. months later, all i get on my discover feed are a bunch of mellow rain/sleepy songs. I dont actually listen to that crap, i just want it periodically for certain things. there needs to be a way to tag songs as "DO NOT CONSIDER" for the discover feature
  - squeaky-clean 7y ago
    Similar situation here, I use spotify for music during D&D games (you can find some amazing playlists on reddit / dnd forums), but now 20% of what's in my mixes is generic fantasy and halloween background ambiance.
- sdan 7y ago
  Yeah I'm getting this problem as well. I need a better diverse and robust recommendation system from Spotify (at this point I'm addicted, I listen maybe 5 hours on average) and a lot of times I get the same n number of songs again and again. 99% of the weeks Discover Weekly has come out, they have 1 or 2 real nice songs but the rest are the same "garbage" I've been listening to for a while. Anyways, I agree, Discover Weekly needs a revamp.
- rozularen 7y ago
  Spotify's Discover Weekly has improved a lot since I started following different Artists. At the begginning it was more like what you just said everytime the same music over and over until I started following new Artists. The same thing applies for New Releases.
  - uoaei 7y ago
    Good call. I agree with you and I don't feel that requiring that level of user engagement should be necessary to grant them a decent experience.
mgraczyk 7y ago
What sort of KPIs would you prefer? I work on similar things at IG and curious what you would suggest.
- sbilstein 7y ago
  I think it’s inherent in a free ad driven product that I spend as many minutes per day browsing through images and videos. It’s like television; it’s not like IG wants me to look at one high value image and call it a day. If I listen to music all day however, I am still going about the rest of my life. Instagram success means my direct attention...direct attention is easier to get with racy photos and surprising content.

uoaei 7y ago

I've had terrible luck the past couple years with Spotify's Discover Weekly. Last time I remember it being good was Fall 2016. Now my "Discover" Weekly playlist has me "discovering" the same exact songs over and over. I've been pigeonholed way beyond what I thought possible. Do other users really engage with the same 10 songs over and over and over that this is the default behavior of their recommendation engine? I get "Discover" tracks which are from the same album I have downloaded to my phone!

volkk 7y ago
i have a separate problem. i got a puppy and there was a time where i had to just put in headphones while i was crate training him, and listen to rain sounds to fall asleep, instead of his cries. months later, all i get on my discover feed are a bunch of mellow rain/sleepy songs. I dont actually listen to that crap, i just want it periodically for certain things. there needs to be a way to tag songs as "DO NOT CONSIDER" for the discover feature
- squeaky-clean 7y ago
  Similar situation here, I use spotify for music during D&D games (you can find some amazing playlists on reddit / dnd forums), but now 20% of what's in my mixes is generic fantasy and halloween background ambiance.
sdan 7y ago
Yeah I'm getting this problem as well. I need a better diverse and robust recommendation system from Spotify (at this point I'm addicted, I listen maybe 5 hours on average) and a lot of times I get the same n number of songs again and again. 99% of the weeks Discover Weekly has come out, they have 1 or 2 real nice songs but the rest are the same "garbage" I've been listening to for a while. Anyways, I agree, Discover Weekly needs a revamp.
rozularen 7y ago
Spotify's Discover Weekly has improved a lot since I started following different Artists. At the begginning it was more like what you just said everytime the same music over and over until I started following new Artists. The same thing applies for New Releases.
- uoaei 7y ago
  Good call. I agree with you and I don't feel that requiring that level of user engagement should be necessary to grant them a decent experience.

mgraczyk 7y ago

What sort of KPIs would you prefer? I work on similar things at IG and curious what you would suggest.

sbilstein 7y ago
I think it’s inherent in a free ad driven product that I spend as many minutes per day browsing through images and videos. It’s like television; it’s not like IG wants me to look at one high value image and call it a day. If I listen to music all day however, I am still going about the rest of my life. Instagram success means my direct attention...direct attention is easier to get with racy photos and surprising content.