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Instagram is shifting to videos – users aren't happy

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Re: Instagram is shifting to videos – users aren't happy

#381

Post by cameronh90 »

tayo42 wrote: post #375
labrador wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Tiktok has nailed the delightful "stumble upon" I didn't understand the appeal of Tiktok until just now when I read your comment. I was a StumbleUpon.com addict in 2006-07. I spent hours a day on it, saw really interesting content and even made some IRL friends. I have no idea why they killed that site. I'll give Tiktok another try.

I don't get how that description sounds like a good way to spend your time. Why do you need hours of throway content in your life from people you don't have any connection to? Why not like go to the gym or hike or cook your self a healthy meal.

Because it's fun.

Re: Instagram is shifting to videos – users aren't happy

#382

Post by marssaxman »

FredPret wrote: post #267
asdff wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't blame them tbh. On a whole species level, why are we inventing the wheel hundreds of separate times just to satisfy pedantic legalese? Any alien observing earth would think we are idiots and clearly nothing to be worried about because we do stuff like this, in the name of profits usually, instead of just sharing ideas openly with each other.

Actually it's pretty smart to reward the inventive ones and punish the freeloaders, or else there'd be a rush to become a freeloader and stop the hard work of inventing - leading to species-wide collapse.

The current system only seems to accomplish that goal if you are focused on the inventiveness of lawyers.

Re: Instagram is shifting to videos – users aren't happy

#383

Post by jasonladuke0311 »

Ensorceled wrote: post #157
kpierce wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All entertainment seems to be broken. Let me watch something on netflix my recommended list is almost identical to comedy, adventure, etc. Their machine learning must show that people will just watch what is in front of them.

My audible app is full of recommendations for books I ALREADY HAVE I MY LIBRARY. Netflix seems to be actually getting better, for a while, watching a single video could entirely change my recommended list.

Spotify transitions to a “song like those in your playlist” when a playlist finishes…and 95% of those songs are from the playlist I just finished listening to…makes no sense.

Re: Instagram is shifting to videos – users aren't happy

#384

Post by rodgerd »

shmatt wrote: post #88
gdulli wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When Twitter forced the algorithmic timeline on people, someone tweeted: "Is the algorithm based what everyone else likes, or what I like? Because I hate what everyone else likes, and I don't know what I like."

I don't have TikTok, but for 2 years this is what I've been hearing from people who love it. They figured out a way to show you exactly what you're interested in, without you giving them any specific input There have been many articles about the phenomenon of the "For You Page"[1][2]. But the funny part is Meta sees this and figures - people are looking at videos, we'll do videos. And not - people are seeing what the…

There was a talk I went to a few years back where the speaker (Genevieve Bell) discussed the idea of "systems of delight" - that most recommendation engines fail because they just tell you things that you know, or that someone wants to sell.

What they're bad at is working out what you don't know what you want: the example that she gave was: you land in a new city, you're on your way somewhere. A recommendation engine might already know that you drink coffee and point out the cafes on the way to where you're going - but will it "know" to suggest that there's a public sculpture and that you wouldn't think to look at ordinarily, but you would be happy to see.

TikTok seems much closer to that notion of "systems of delight".

(However, for a great deal of social media I want to be running what I look at anyway.)

Re: Instagram is shifting to videos – users aren't happy

#385

Post by rodgerd »

slig wrote: post #293
alexpotato wrote: post #280

As a casual user of both Facebook and TikTok, I would share my impression of how they share videos: TikTok - Their algorithm seems to very quickly hone in on things I actually want to see. - e.g. if figured out that I like to see comedy clips, some woodworking videos etc - I suspect that they do this by a combination of showing you some "test" videos that quickly bucket your interests and then using additional data b…

For me, it feels like the recommendations from Youtube, FB, Instagram, Spotify, etc, are really what they would want you to see, not what I would want to see. Never listened to those shitty podcasts, and that's what recommended for me on Spotify. The Youtube search is flooded with "recommendations" and "what's hot" that are hot garbage. Google search is getting useless, with tons of spam and obvious duplicated conten…

> are really what they would want you to see, not what I would want to see.

I think that there's also a huge amount of gaming of the algorithm by third parties. I doubt that Google are desperate for me to watch Jordan Peterson or the piles of other neo-fascist crap I get pushed as a recommendation any time I look at a video about cars, for example.

Re: Instagram is shifting to videos – users aren't happy

#386

Post by xfour »

mateo411 wrote: post #365
labrador wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Tiktok has nailed the delightful "stumble upon" I didn't understand the appeal of Tiktok until just now when I read your comment. I was a StumbleUpon.com addict in 2006-07. I spent hours a day on it, saw really interesting content and even made some IRL friends. I have no idea why they killed that site. I'll give Tiktok another try.

They killed the site, because they ran out of money.

Probably a part of it, but a not insignificant part was the buying of it by eBay who had no clue what to do with it, then selling it back to the founders.

By that point or soon thereafter Garrett Camp had co-founded Uber which obviously worked pretty well and had less interest in the site.

Re: Instagram is shifting to videos – users aren't happy

#387

Post by GekkePrutser »

harrisonjackson wrote: post #308

Instagram's biggest failing in trying to copy Tiktok is their feed algorithm. Tiktok has nailed the delightful "stumble upon" effect of getting users of all ages to keep going to the next and the next video. I don't mind how each new piece of content is paged because the content is better for the format and it doesn't feel clunky when I do want to skip to the next one. Instagram couldn't switch their algorithm becaus…

> Instagram couldn't switch their algorithm because people think they still want to see the content they've been seeing...

This will differ a lot based on the user. I only use Instagram to keep tabs on activities in a few venues I frequent. I follow those and I only see what they post. Perfect. For it to show me random crap that's trending would totally break it for me. I haven't noticed this yet but I'm not even using their app, only the website.

Similarly, Facebook killed itself for me when it moved from the timeline to the algorithm driven feed. The feed showed me more random crap and less of the people I was interested in. Eventually I left and replaced it with nothing.

Re: Instagram is shifting to videos – users aren't happy

#388

Post by GekkePrutser »

eruleman wrote: post #358
lotsofpulp wrote: post #350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Boggles my mind how. Unless it is an arts and crafts or mechanical or some other hands on video, it is so inefficient to watch someone talk rather than just read the transcript.

Most people don't judge content based on information density.

I do. My time is valuable. And text is also much easier to archive for future reference.

It's also much easier to skip through parts in a written document because you can see the context before and after easily on a written text. Whereas with video you have this kind of catch up every time you skip.

Re: Instagram is shifting to videos – users aren't happy

#389

Post by polishdude20 »

FredPret wrote: post #267
asdff wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't blame them tbh. On a whole species level, why are we inventing the wheel hundreds of separate times just to satisfy pedantic legalese? Any alien observing earth would think we are idiots and clearly nothing to be worried about because we do stuff like this, in the name of profits usually, instead of just sharing ideas openly with each other.

Actually it's pretty smart to reward the inventive ones and punish the freeloaders, or else there'd be a rush to become a freeloader and stop the hard work of inventing - leading to species-wide collapse.

In a way you can also explain it as standing in the shoulders of giants. Get the stuff that was already done shared out of the way and encourage more to be built on top.

Re: Instagram is shifting to videos – users aren't happy

#390

Post by RJIb8RBYxzAMX9u »

(We're all adults here, yes?)

If TikTok's algorithm's really so good, would someone please apply it to porn? I might actually pay money for that, and I doubt I'm alone (ha!)...

Then again, despite trying TikTok a few times its never been able to capture my attention for long. Maybe I'm just hard to entertain.

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