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Thoroughly agree about adverts. Have you read Tim Wu's "The Attention Merchants"? On the social media thing, I find they are always better when they just show
by noneeeed 5y ago
Thoroughly agree about adverts. Have you read Tim Wu's "The Attention Merchants"?
On the social media thing, I find they are always better when they just show you the things you've asked to see, in chronological order. It's all this algorithmic "hey, your aunt's brother-in-law's gardener just commented on a post by someone you don't know" bullshit that causes the problem. If I just look at Twitter posts from the people I follow it's fine, it's just my friends talking about stuff, the moment I make the mistake of following a trending topic link it's a cesspit.
And yeah, a lot of things seem to be cost engineered to the point where they are designed to look ok, but not last or take much punishment. But that's less about tech, and more about us as consumers, we seek to minimise cost and so that's what manufacturers go for.
- Nextgrid 5y agoThe reason behind the algorithm is again advertising. A chronological timeline makes it super-easy to tell when you've caught up. An algorithmic one can recycle posts endlessly in a different order, making you spend more time trying to make sure you've caught up - this means more opportunities for them to insert ads. The problem with social media isn't "social media", it's advertising and the fact that money is made out of "engagement". You kill that disgusting industry and so many problems would disappear overnight.
- jazzyjackson 5y agoIt’s also the well studied slot-machine effect of “intermittent reinforcement” - sometimes when you refresh the page you get nothing new, sometimes when you refresh the page you get what you want - this releases more dopamine and is therefore more addictive then simply getting what you want every time.