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An empirical investigation of personalization factors on TikTok

arxiv.org

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Re: An empirical investigation of personalization factors on TikTok

#31

Post by dakial1 »

I started using TikTok and wanted to check how it would suggest me videos if I didn't like anything, as it would make it easier for it and I wouldn't be able to see how sophisticated it really is.

So it obviously would start in a very broad content but already target at my demographics (male 30-40 y/o, which BTW gave a worrying amount of very young girls dancing in a sexualized way) but with time it would certainly adapt and be really spot on on the videos I liked (mainly stand up/comedy stuff). Everything based in signals other than liking of following.

They obviously track all interactions from the user (time watching, repeats, shares, OP profile checks, etc) to make this targeting. Also its ML for visual recognition used to identify key aspects on the video (people, location, etc...) is very powerful as it would guess my favorite comedians and start exploring with other videos.

Also they certainly use bandit/lookalike model there as it would recommend some wildly different videos for me.

And I can bet that that last video it shows when you click to leave the app (on Android at least) is probably the highest rated recommendation for you. To really lock you in there.

Re: An empirical investigation of personalization factors on TikTok

#32

Post by Dma54rhs »

RomanAlexander wrote: post #5

I wonder if the recommendation engines are different per country. For example in the US, you usually can't be recommended videos from accounts outside the US. Even with a VPN, spoofed geo location, system language, added video language you will be served only mostly videos based on your IMEI.

Set more languages from your profile or account settings. I put it to English, I live in a small euro country and 80% of the content is American to be honest. And at least football related content has various people from all over the world who speak in English in their videos. That comes from top of my head but I don't keep track of it obviously.

I only wanted English content but you can add more languages.

Re: An empirical investigation of personalization factors on TikTok

#33

Post by dmingod666 »

BiteCode_dev wrote: post #10

I don't understand how it works for people. I tried for what felt an eternity, and it kept showing me terrible content. So I removed it. Is there something that is not made to turn your brain into a sponge on tik tok ?

You have to actively like content you like and follow people you want to see more of. Have a motive and plan of what type of content you want to consume and you get that kind of stuff.. I like and followed people who are nearby and visit beautiful places close by... This is like 80% of my feed and I like it...

Re: An empirical investigation of personalization factors on TikTok

#34

Post by dmingod666 »

ggus wrote: post #15
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #10

I don't understand how it works for people. I tried for what felt an eternity, and it kept showing me terrible content. So I removed it. Is there something that is not made to turn your brain into a sponge on tik tok ?

My experience exactly, and my friend's experience too. I'm inclined to think every "tiktok is soo great after you put time into it" comment I see is some form of Stockholm syndrome..

You have to actively engage and be focused or you'll get lost..

Re: An empirical investigation of personalization factors on TikTok

#35

Post by asmy »

PaulHoule wrote: post #7
asmy wrote: post #2

I was searching some information on what are the principles behind the TikTok algorithm/recommendation engine and I found this very recent preprint. I wanted to have some opinions on its validity.

It's probably valid but on a quick reading I don't see a lot of depth or a clear understanding of "what the magic is".

Yeah, I pretty much understood some of it because it is very clear. I was researching some explanation or first-principles approach to the TikTok algorithm but going through ResearchGate/Arxiv but found few technical reports and the best one was this one (and very recent). And going through Google is a mine-field because of marketing companies SEO bombing the words "Tiktok" and "algorithm"

Re: An empirical investigation of personalization factors on TikTok

#36

Post by dentemple »

BiteCode_dev wrote: post #13
bpodgursky wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your experience, while worth noting, is clearly atypical.

I understand that I probably have a niche taste, been a nerd and all, but still. Maybe I'm not the target? Do they have a lot of millennial users or is it mostly for the younger generation?

Speaking as a tiktok-using millennial nerd, it only took about a week or so for my feed to exclusively send me content on D&D, tech advice, science fiction skits, history lessons, and the occasional book review.

The content is there, but sometimes you do have to help the algorithm a little by using the search feature and liking the sort of videos that you actually want to see.

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