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I get that this rage bait works on some percent of the population. 20%? 50%? 75%? What that leaves unanswered is, why aren't these platforms smart enough to ada
by rconti 3y ago
I get that this rage bait works on some percent of the population. 20%? 50%? 75%? What that leaves unanswered is, why aren't these platforms smart enough to adapt to what actual individuals react to? Sure, they picked the most successful single formula, but you'd think they'd want to increase the platform's engagement at the margins rather than just milking one approach for all it's worth.
- k12sosse 3y agoI suspect these megalithic corpos are actually in it to make a dollar, no matter the cost to reputation or society. You'd think reputation would matter but it turns out once you reach the point of no return ("I keep Facebook so I can share with my grandma"), you'll come back even if there are rats chewing on your toes
- rconti 3y agoBut my point was they could make more money if they had algos that worked on more people.
- 0xDEAFBEAD 3y agoMy vague impression was that Threads clamped down on the rage bait, and as a result it did not get adopted. Is that correct?
- trifurcate 3y agoYou are just describing a (good) recommendation algorithm. TikTok's is infamously good at figuring out your niches and catering to your taste by looking at your minute interactions with the content it shows you. My TikTok "for you" page has absolutely 0 mainstream politics, rage bait, or any other "normie" topics. It's mostly technically fascinating stuff and good absurd humor that caters to my absurd taste. Optimizing for engagement is not inherently bad, nor does it necessarily result in socially suboptimal outcomes. My TikTok feed is very engaging without having to resort to triggering my anger. A recommendation algorithm that only sticks to a handful of given topics (rage bait and furry porn?) is not a very good one.
- rconti 3y agoAh. I don’t use TikTok because I strongly dislike video content.