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Both Reddit and Twitter show a fake notification indicating some activity directed at you like an @mention or a reply but are actually just a trick to get you t
by Sai_ 3y ago
Both Reddit and Twitter show a fake notification indicating some activity directed at you like an @mention or a reply but are actually just a trick to get you to open the notifications tab/popover.
Stopped using Twitter and reddit the second I realised this. Infuriating subterfuge just to put some inflated engagement metric in their decks.
- dash2 3y agoTwitter's infuriating thing is that it flashes up "7 notifications" when you first load the page, then hides it for a few minutes, then shows it again. This is so tricksy. I assume they are trying to reward you for staying on the site.
- Sai_ 3y agoI can’t imagine this sort of trickery is going to help them in the long run - they are training their users to mistrust and eventually ignore them. It’s like a furniture shop advertising a “going out of business” sale or a shepherd boy crying wolf twice. People wise up to this and become more open to alternatives. Surely, even VCs and investors know not to take DAUs and MAUs and click rates at face value. Who are these companies trying to con?
- TeMPOraL 3y ago> Who are these companies trying to con? The stock market. VCs are looking at these metrics not just as indicators of company's health and growth trajectory, but also, at the later stage, as indicators of the company's ability to generate returns - which often involve the company being acquired or going public.
- verve_rat 3y agoIs is never about the company as a whole, it is the incentives of the middle manager that is rewarded for "increasing engagement" or some other bullshit metric.
- deelly 3y agoOh, exactly same with Facebook. "You got a message/news!", nope, I did not.
- Tuna-Fish 3y agoold.reddit.com does not do this.