4 ms·

I get almost no music or dance based content on TikTok. It's algorithm almost exclusively returns videos on topics I'm interested in. Usually a mix of politics,

by Jochim 4y ago

I get almost no music or dance based content on TikTok. It's algorithm almost exclusively returns videos on topics I'm interested in. Usually a mix of politics, science, cooking, crafts, cat, and couples content. The simple explanation as to why content popularity varies across countries seems to be that there are cultural differences at play. Frankly, it feels like a lot of people are simply uncomfortable with seeing their cultural values reflected back at them.

capableweb 4y ago
I have no hate for TikTok, I'm sure it's useful for many. But I tend to get quickly bored of echo-chambers (HN included sometimes), where if I like some content, doesn't mean I just want to see content like that. I need to "reset" my history of YouTube sometimes after I "spend" watching 3-4 videos of some topic, and now my YouTube is overrun with just content related to that, instead of different topics. TikTok is guilty of the same, where after using it for a week or two, I basically see no other content than content related to a couple of videos I watched longer than others. I liked how the internet was before, where I stumbled upon content wildly different from each other, and could acquire new tastes, instead of just being served what the algorithm have decided I should surely forever like.
- powerapple 4y ago
  China has passed a law to allow user to disable algorithmic recommendations. It probably is not in place yet, but that's may be something you are looking for.
  - capableweb 4y ago
    What is really want is a algorithm that does the opposite of what current social media does. "You liked this content? Here is some content that is on the opposite side of what you might like, just for you to discover new stuff", but that's less about regulation and legislation and more about companies willing to do something different than the rest.
    - powerapple 4y ago
      sounds like you just want to a different product. This is interesting by the way. I wonder how easy to use platform as a content source and run your algorithms on top of it to produce things you like. Maybe they will never expose their data, but it is interesting to think about it though. IMO, the big problem of this world is fueled by the "like" button concept. The internet would be a much nicer place if we replace "like" with "dislike". "like" typically push people to the extreme, and "dislike" will push people to the middle.
- Jochim 4y ago
  I agree that it can be pretty samey at times. Although, I've found it much better at delivering a wider variety of content than Youtube, where my recommendations consist of videos that: * I watched once, 12 years ago. * Sit in recommended for a week or more, despite my obvious lack of interest in them. * Relate to some subset of recent topics. It's strange how static Youtube recommendations appear to be as well. I often see the same set of Youtube Shorts for a few days at a time. I do miss when forums were more popular. It's nice when you stumble across one that's still going.

by Jochim 4y ago

capableweb 4y ago

I have no hate for TikTok, I'm sure it's useful for many. But I tend to get quickly bored of echo-chambers (HN included sometimes), where if I like some content, doesn't mean I just want to see content like that. I need to "reset" my history of YouTube sometimes after I "spend" watching 3-4 videos of some topic, and now my YouTube is overrun with just content related to that, instead of different topics. TikTok is guilty of the same, where after using it for a week or two, I basically see no other content than content related to a couple of videos I watched longer than others. I liked how the internet was before, where I stumbled upon content wildly different from each other, and could acquire new tastes, instead of just being served what the algorithm have decided I should surely forever like.

powerapple 4y ago
China has passed a law to allow user to disable algorithmic recommendations. It probably is not in place yet, but that's may be something you are looking for.
- capableweb 4y ago
  What is really want is a algorithm that does the opposite of what current social media does. "You liked this content? Here is some content that is on the opposite side of what you might like, just for you to discover new stuff", but that's less about regulation and legislation and more about companies willing to do something different than the rest.
  - powerapple 4y ago
    sounds like you just want to a different product. This is interesting by the way. I wonder how easy to use platform as a content source and run your algorithms on top of it to produce things you like. Maybe they will never expose their data, but it is interesting to think about it though. IMO, the big problem of this world is fueled by the "like" button concept. The internet would be a much nicer place if we replace "like" with "dislike". "like" typically push people to the extreme, and "dislike" will push people to the middle.
Jochim 4y ago
I agree that it can be pretty samey at times. Although, I've found it much better at delivering a wider variety of content than Youtube, where my recommendations consist of videos that: * I watched once, 12 years ago. * Sit in recommended for a week or more, despite my obvious lack of interest in them. * Relate to some subset of recent topics. It's strange how static Youtube recommendations appear to be as well. I often see the same set of Youtube Shorts for a few days at a time. I do miss when forums were more popular. It's nice when you stumble across one that's still going.