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> Twitter is awesome because it doesn't operate under the growth for growths sake mentality plaguing many other companies. Is that really true though? They've

> Twitter is awesome because it doesn't operate under the growth for growths sake mentality plaguing many other companies. Is that really true though? They've been a huge beneficiary of fake news, astroturfing and bots. They've only relatively recently started to do something resembling policing of these things.

actionscripted 7y ago
Growth for growth's sake doesn't have anything to do with fake news, astroturfing or bots.
- smachiz 7y ago
  Except for all those bots counting as users for growth, and the fake engagement by bots counting as growth, and the fake news driving real clicks from real people counting as growth........
- slg 7y ago
  Growth is the implied motivation for not cutting down on fake news, astroturfing, and bots. When you are selling yourself on engagement and user numbers, you have an incentive to continue allowing fake engagement and users.
TeMPOraL 7y ago
Also the regular cycle of "release an API, encourage companies to build on top of it, then pull it out", essentially resembling Reapers from Mass Effect.
gdulli 7y ago
On Facebook you're bound to your friends/family/co-workers/etc, on Reddit you're bound to the shallowest lowest common denominator content (front page) or else endless spam and self-promotion (sort by new.) Twitter is where you're meaningfully in control of who you follow and what you see. That means it's on you to curate that, and many won't want to do that. I was on Twitter for a while before I found the real niche and strategies that made it my favorite place. Once I got it, the curation became an activity that I enjoy, part of the loop, and it's rewarding when it's working well. If you're seeing fake news regularly it's because you want to see it. One key thing to do is avoid the algorithmic timeline, Twitter does force bullshit down your throat to maximize engagement metrics, but where is that not the norm anymore? My Twitter experience might crumble if I lose access to the app that removes ads and suggested content from the timeline and keeps it fully chronological.
- wronglebowski 7y ago
  I fully agree. Twitter is a platform where I can truly curate what I see and interact with in a meaningful fashion. On Reddit you can follow a community but then you’re bound by the quality of the community and it’s moderation. If on Twitter I want to follow an author I follow them. I engage with them. No additional noise or BS.
- btown 7y ago
  For what it's worth, Reddit becomes equally curatable to Twitter once you unfollow the default subreddits and join niche ones. There are multiple lines of defense that lend themselves to curation: niche subreddits have moderators who can remove off-topic posts; users are further disincentivized from making off-topic posts as they would run the risk of losing karma; subreddits tend to fracture into X/XMemes/XMetaDiscussion/XGifs/XVideo/SeriousX etc. so you can fine-tune what part of a topic you want; Reddit's "Custom Feeds" feature allows you to further separate your subscriptions into topic-specific buckets, allowing you to focus on one set of interests at a time. And the suggestion algorithm is both more rudimentary and just a jumping-off point to spend time on a specific subreddit you like. What Twitter does bring is the ability for one to say "this is a person I know or am familiar with; I can now trust what they say" - which Reddit eschews in favor of simple popularity. But since the "Hot" algorithm weights based on time-scaled popularity within each community, it's not quite as bad as one might think.
  - nindalf 7y ago
    > For what it's worth, Reddit becomes equally curatable Any place is. The person you're replying to is convinced that Twitter is "the best" but any network where you invest can be really good. On facebook, I've gotten rid of people I don't like and now it's only people I admire + interesting articles. My reddit front page is great for me - programming subreddits interpolated with cute animal gifs. I use Instagram maybe twice a year but I'm sure if I invested into finding people I admired, it'd be worthwhile too. Ditto with HN - most comments are self assured pronouncements made with absolute confidence and minimal expertise. But once you start to recognise certain usernames, you're able to sift the wheat from the chaff easily. Twitter isn't "the best". Nor are any of the others. Each has it's niche.
Mirioron 7y ago
>They've only relatively recently started to do something resembling policing of these things. I'm unconvinced that this is even a good thing. It's really hard to police that without seeming biased. Take this new story about labeling a clip of Biden as "edited". Biden said those words, but the clip was cut short. This is essentially a sound bite without context. It makes Twitter look like they're defending Biden, but I doubt that this was Twitter's intent. I think that trying to police these things now will simply dig themselves deeper into a hole.

actionscripted 7y ago

Growth for growth's sake doesn't have anything to do with fake news, astroturfing or bots.

smachiz 7y ago
Except for all those bots counting as users for growth, and the fake engagement by bots counting as growth, and the fake news driving real clicks from real people counting as growth........
slg 7y ago
Growth is the implied motivation for not cutting down on fake news, astroturfing, and bots. When you are selling yourself on engagement and user numbers, you have an incentive to continue allowing fake engagement and users.

TeMPOraL 7y ago

Also the regular cycle of "release an API, encourage companies to build on top of it, then pull it out", essentially resembling Reapers from Mass Effect.

gdulli 7y ago

On Facebook you're bound to your friends/family/co-workers/etc, on Reddit you're bound to the shallowest lowest common denominator content (front page) or else endless spam and self-promotion (sort by new.) Twitter is where you're meaningfully in control of who you follow and what you see. That means it's on you to curate that, and many won't want to do that. I was on Twitter for a while before I found the real niche and strategies that made it my favorite place. Once I got it, the curation became an activity that I enjoy, part of the loop, and it's rewarding when it's working well. If you're seeing fake news regularly it's because you want to see it. One key thing to do is avoid the algorithmic timeline, Twitter does force bullshit down your throat to maximize engagement metrics, but where is that not the norm anymore? My Twitter experience might crumble if I lose access to the app that removes ads and suggested content from the timeline and keeps it fully chronological.

wronglebowski 7y ago
I fully agree. Twitter is a platform where I can truly curate what I see and interact with in a meaningful fashion. On Reddit you can follow a community but then you’re bound by the quality of the community and it’s moderation. If on Twitter I want to follow an author I follow them. I engage with them. No additional noise or BS.
btown 7y ago
For what it's worth, Reddit becomes equally curatable to Twitter once you unfollow the default subreddits and join niche ones. There are multiple lines of defense that lend themselves to curation: niche subreddits have moderators who can remove off-topic posts; users are further disincentivized from making off-topic posts as they would run the risk of losing karma; subreddits tend to fracture into X/XMemes/XMetaDiscussion/XGifs/XVideo/SeriousX etc. so you can fine-tune what part of a topic you want; Reddit's "Custom Feeds" feature allows you to further separate your subscriptions into topic-specific buckets, allowing you to focus on one set of interests at a time. And the suggestion algorithm is both more rudimentary and just a jumping-off point to spend time on a specific subreddit you like. What Twitter does bring is the ability for one to say "this is a person I know or am familiar with; I can now trust what they say" - which Reddit eschews in favor of simple popularity. But since the "Hot" algorithm weights based on time-scaled popularity within each community, it's not quite as bad as one might think.
- nindalf 7y ago
  > For what it's worth, Reddit becomes equally curatable Any place is. The person you're replying to is convinced that Twitter is "the best" but any network where you invest can be really good. On facebook, I've gotten rid of people I don't like and now it's only people I admire + interesting articles. My reddit front page is great for me - programming subreddits interpolated with cute animal gifs. I use Instagram maybe twice a year but I'm sure if I invested into finding people I admired, it'd be worthwhile too. Ditto with HN - most comments are self assured pronouncements made with absolute confidence and minimal expertise. But once you start to recognise certain usernames, you're able to sift the wheat from the chaff easily. Twitter isn't "the best". Nor are any of the others. Each has it's niche.

Mirioron 7y ago

>They've only relatively recently started to do something resembling policing of these things. I'm unconvinced that this is even a good thing. It's really hard to police that without seeming biased. Take this new story about labeling a clip of Biden as "edited". Biden said those words, but the clip was cut short. This is essentially a sound bite without context. It makes Twitter look like they're defending Biden, but I doubt that this was Twitter's intent. I think that trying to police these things now will simply dig themselves deeper into a hole.