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FB feed is 98% suggested pages and barely any friends' posts

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Re: FB feed is 98% suggested pages and barely any friends' posts

#281

Post by tenebrisalietum »

elcomet wrote: post #91
ok123456 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Marketplace is the only reason a lot of people still use the site. This is since especially true for people looking for beater cars since Craigslist started charging $5 to post ads for cars. If Apple or someone else with an ax to grind with Facebook really wanted to bust Meta's kneecaps, they could off to subsidize this charge. Maybe also help them out with fraud and spam detection, since that's where most of the ove…

That might be the reason for you, but there are many other reasons why people still use the site. For example, coordinating events with friends, discover local events, discussing on messenger, sharing photos, discussing in groups...

I hear this all the time but SMS/MMS/iMessage/whatever Android has does this just as well.

Re: FB feed is 98% suggested pages and barely any friends' posts

#283

Post by alistairSH »

yamrzou wrote: post #280
fairity wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, this isn't a consequence of the status quo newsfeed algorithm. This is a consequence of Facebook making a purposeful strategic shift away from in-network content to suggested content. This strategic shift was highlighted in their last earnings call as a way to compete with TikTok, whose success is partly explained by their focus on suggested content. On the earnings call, they signaled that they were shifting mor…

Yes, here is a chronology of key events: 2020 — Facebook launches its TikTok rival, Instagram Reels: https://www.axios.com/2020/08/05/facebook-launches-its-tikto... 2021 — TikTok overtakes Facebook as world's most downloaded app: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/TikTok-overtakes... Feb. 2022 — Facebook loses users for the first time in its history — https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/02/02/face…

Mid-2021, I stop using FB for anything beyond Marketplace.

Mid-2022, I find Instagram to be just as useless as FB.

I find I'm spending far less time on big social platforms. And a little more time in niche web forums. And I mostly feel better (sanity-wise) for it.

Re: FB feed is 98% suggested pages and barely any friends' posts

#284

Post by rightbyte »

mingfli wrote: post #277
bazeblackwood wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bad strategy, imo. Sounds like they should have tried to answer why people used their product in the first place. “A competitor does it” isn’t a valid excuse—its like suggesting The French Laundry switch to fast food because McDonald’s is a competitor.

The French Laundry is a very niche product, which Facebook is not. I think a more apt analogy is suggesting McDonald's to include more "healthy" options or a coffee bar because the competitors do it and it's a successful business strategy.

More liking pushing "healthy" options in your face in the menu and hiding the BigMac & Co in some obscure small print somewhere.

"Do you want plus sized carrots with your meal?"

Re: FB feed is 98% suggested pages and barely any friends' posts

#285

Post by OJFord »

kolbe wrote: post #274
bazeblackwood wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bad strategy, imo. Sounds like they should have tried to answer why people used their product in the first place. “A competitor does it” isn’t a valid excuse—its like suggesting The French Laundry switch to fast food because McDonald’s is a competitor.

They also need to be honest with themselves about whether TikTok is a competitor, or if TT has simply won a completely different business that happens to take customers' finite resources (time) from Facebook.

When you're an ads-funded social media company, is there a difference?

Re: FB feed is 98% suggested pages and barely any friends' posts

#286

Post by jrnichols »

I noticed this as well and as a result I use Facebook a whole lot less. one big problem that I've encountered is that it's suggesting borderline NSFW content from the plague of OnlyFans "creators" that have flooded onto literally every social media platform out there.

I've tried the "suggest less" and liking literally everything else I can but I continue to get a flood of borderline content. You click "Like" on one reel by accident and IG thinks that's all you want to see.

less Meta usage for me. No TikTok either.

Re: FB feed is 98% suggested pages and barely any friends' posts

#287

Post by csw-001 »

r00fus wrote: post #216
csw-001 wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure it's the advertising dollars that are addictive as much as it is "growth". To keep the stock price up you have sustain a PE that reflects revenue growth, and once you are done signing up new users... Well... Something's got to give. I see the ads as a lot like cutting timber out of a finite forest - it's profitable, but potentially harmful to the ecosystem in a way that can make it unsustainable. As long…

If our profit-uber-alles capitalist model has nothing to restrain it... it raises the question - is the growth benign or malignant?

If the logging analogy holds, then I don't think this is purely an issue of profits above all - it's more an issue of short-termism. If you are Facebook, you could reasonably stay relevant, focus on content quality, and shift to a profit model that looks a lot more like Morton Salt's - steady as she goes. In the long run, sans other goals, that might be the rational thing to do.

On the other hand, if you are looking to preserve stock price in the short-term you need to at least create the illusion of sustainable revenue growth. And there is a lot to be said for this later strategy if you don't really want to run Facebook in maintenance phase. Seems that Mark and Co. might not be all that concerned about "deforesting" Facebook with ads because the end game here is the Metaverse...?...

Re: FB feed is 98% suggested pages and barely any friends' posts

#288

Post by binarynate »

legitster wrote: post #245
binarynate wrote: post #162

I absolutely hate the unwanted recommendations and Reels, but I currently still find FB useful for staying in contact with extended family and friends, so I use this "Facebook Hide Recommendations and Reels" browser extension to keep FB useable: https://github.com/mrinc/Facebook-Hide-Recommendations-and-R... Even with recommendations and Reels disabled, other aspects of FB have also degraded significantly: - Friends…

Wow! This extension is great! Thanks. > I suspect people have also grown wary of Facebook's privacy practices like I have I do not think this really tracks for the average user. Most people use social media because they a) want to be seen or b) want content tailored to their interest. Ironically, FB now offers neither. So even my wife, who will gladly give out her info for any sweepstakes she can doesn't really find…

You're welcome! And I think you're right, the privacy issues probably aren't a concern for the average user.

Re: FB feed is 98% suggested pages and barely any friends' posts

#289

Post by thehappypm »

ineptech wrote: post #61

Crazy idea: FB should stop trying to lure people back from Tiktok with weird features and just lean in to its one remaining strength, which is that among social media sites, it's the most generic and boring and ubiquitous. Being the default place for non-influencers to do quotidian stuff like hearing about school closings, joining the PTA or HOA, coordinating family gatherings, see your nephew's school photos, etc wo…

Yes! Exactly this.

Facebook is your online second life. It’s actually you.

With that, it doesn’t make as much sense to be the place to mindlessly scroll dance videos, or discuss politics with strangers.

It does, however, make for a great place to discuss local things, discuss hobbies, buy and sell things, message people, keep up with friends and family

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