4 ms·

Is it possible that Facebook's feed is not as good at that supposed goal as it is at getting people to scroll endlessly? I've stopped using Facebook and Instag

Is it possible that Facebook's feed is not as good at that supposed goal as it is at getting people to scroll endlessly? I've stopped using Facebook and Instagram in the last few years, so I can only speak from observing friends and family on those platforms... but I mostly left them because my friends and family didn't post. Once my feed became 90% ads and reshared posts from strangers, I left. Maybe your definition of "posting and interacting" is different from the author's. And on the subject of "every nasty trick [to] keep you scrolling": that includes, for instance, making it incredibly difficult to delete your account. Seriously, give it a try. You can't navigate to the delete page through the UI -- the only way to get there is to somehow find a link to the delete page URL. Facebook repeatedly asks you if you're "absolutely sure" you want to leave. They show you a slideshow of friends and family who "won't be able to contact you" if you leave. Then they make you wait 30 days (with no login attempts) to actually delete the account. Seems pretty nasty to me.

mgraczyk 4y ago
> I mostly left them because my friends and family didn't post. Yeah this is exactly the problem, and Facebook understands it. They want people posting more so that their friends will see their posts and stick around. Facebook cares about this more than scrolling because people stick around more in the long term if their friends and family are posting. > Seems pretty nasty to me. Yeah maybe, I've never tried. What I meant is that Facebook could do many things to get people to spend more time scrolling, but they don't do most because it would harm the user experience. For example Facebook was reluctant to add unconnected content on Feed, but eventually did. If they only cared about "keeping you scrolling" they would have done it 10 years ago instead of ~1 year ago.
- kridsdale2 4y ago
  I was on Feed from 2017 until 2020. Every year some minor sub-team would show off their plans for an unconnected content unit. It never shipped until Zuck began to understand that the ship had already sailed with Gen-Z on to TT (which he or a deputy refused to buy when he had the chance). Everything Meta is doing today can be explained by Zuck's frustration with not owning a mobile OS (VR) and knowing that he has already lost the new generation (Reels and Rooms).
8note 4y ago
Not only did they mostly stop posting, but Facebook doesn't show the posts they make, giving me the sense that there's nobody to look at such a post

mgraczyk 4y ago

> I mostly left them because my friends and family didn't post. Yeah this is exactly the problem, and Facebook understands it. They want people posting more so that their friends will see their posts and stick around. Facebook cares about this more than scrolling because people stick around more in the long term if their friends and family are posting. > Seems pretty nasty to me. Yeah maybe, I've never tried. What I meant is that Facebook could do many things to get people to spend more time scrolling, but they don't do most because it would harm the user experience. For example Facebook was reluctant to add unconnected content on Feed, but eventually did. If they only cared about "keeping you scrolling" they would have done it 10 years ago instead of ~1 year ago.

kridsdale2 4y ago
I was on Feed from 2017 until 2020. Every year some minor sub-team would show off their plans for an unconnected content unit. It never shipped until Zuck began to understand that the ship had already sailed with Gen-Z on to TT (which he or a deputy refused to buy when he had the chance). Everything Meta is doing today can be explained by Zuck's frustration with not owning a mobile OS (VR) and knowing that he has already lost the new generation (Reels and Rooms).

8note 4y ago

Not only did they mostly stop posting, but Facebook doesn't show the posts they make, giving me the sense that there's nobody to look at such a post