Let the (Algorithm) Ride

 The Social Dilemma warned us of several ways social media is using its consumers as data sources.  One way to combat it, the experts claimed in the film, was to thwart the algorithm.  Instead of watching what's offered, trending, or default in a feed, choosing instead what you want to see.  Depending on the platform, the algorithm can feel pervasive and difficult to overcome...like the platform is serving up what you're supposed to see like a Big Brother.


For me, however, the experience varies by platform.  For example, the Meta platforms for me are the most frustrating because I spent a significant amount of time curating who I wanted to see and each time the algorithm gets tweaked I get less of what I want and more promoted content.  I would have joined the scores of people who abandoned Facebook if it weren't for the family and friends I can connect with solely in that place.  (They won't join Twitter; I tried).  Instagram is the worst: I rue the day ads were forced on me.  It was months after all the think pieces and super users complained.  Now I dodge ads in the feed, in stories, and in tabs I accidentally click on in the mobile app.  That doesn't count the new suggested posts in the main feed.  And when I like one by mistake, the suggestions multiply.

Some platforms actually don't do too bad with their suggestions.  YouTube was the prime example in the Netflix documentary as the algorithm to avoid.  Yet...it's starting to figure me out.  When I'm using it as a digital jukebox, if I start with one track it makes great suggestions based on what I selected.  My latest discovery thanks to YouTube: Tank and the Bangas.  Highly recommend.


Twitter represents the most balanced of the intrusive experiences.  Sure, Twitter has ads, but you can downvote them and tell them to go away.  The trending tab is one I avoid unless I hear of big news on my main feed or IRL.  The algorithm still plays popularity contest with what I see and the notifications don't match my interests usually.  However, I feel in control.

Now, we are already aware as designers that we can't just drop content on any platform and expect it to be found.  Worse, understanding how algorithms work will help us understand the landscape in which our products would enter.  Being a produser must mean production.  Mostly likely, this is why Dr. Dennen is having us blog weekly...this is building more than an online portfolio but a presence.  What we curate is also affected by how we interact with the algorithm.  Should we be searching YouTube using an existing personal account or a professional account?  Or logged out?  As you interact in communities like Twitter, are you in the same places where your learner audience travels online?  Targeting is a requirement to get to basic learner interaction in the Web 2.0 context.  For learning producers, the algorithm isn't just annoying oversight - it's the ballgame.


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