The algorithm can make social media really weird

While it seems the digital world is becoming more real-time, traditional social media is becoming more algorithm-driven and can lead to some weird posts. For example, here is a post from a friend that I saw earlier this year. The post appeared for me a few days after it was posted, and I have literally no idea what it was referring to.

More recently was this one from another friend. It feels Olympics-related, but it was from a few days prior to the games so I have no idea what it was about. There weren’t any comments or anything to add the necessary context.

Ultimately, it’s kind of sad. While I can appreciate why companies are shifting to a more algorithm-focused approach, it’d be nice to still be able to see the content from your friends in straight reverse-chronological order.

If anything, things are heading the other way where your list of friends or followers matters less and less every day. Maybe that’s an opening for a new social media platform that focuses just on those you follow? I tend to doubt it, as people are clearly more engaged with the algorithm versus the traditional feed.

At the end of the day it’s simply a little sad, and it’s a good reminder to add proper context to your posts because you never know when the social network might decide is a good time to show your post to others.

Originally published at https://www.mickmel.com on August 3, 2024.