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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

#171
post #59
post #22

“I guarantee that every single person who liked and shared that post about bringing Instagram back to what it was, would spend way less time on Instagram if it reverted back to how it used to be” Sure, because they could get the information they want without having to wade through the mountains of crap you’re pumping out of the septic tank into your users faces. You’re optimising the wrong metric you fucking clown.

Tommy Marcus, the content creator from Brooklyn, probably doesn't get much of a say in what Meta optimizes for. Glad you got your insult in, though!

He has a say on what he says about metas feed optimization though, and he clearly supports where their headed now. That's fair to criticize, even if the insult is a little heated.

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

#172

Theory on facebook failure/Google failure to innovate: They have the highest leetcode standards out of FAANG. As does Snap. They hire people that basically memorized computer science algorithms. And so their employees are bookish, not innovative people. Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon do not have the same issues with creating new products. Keith Rabois (top VC), mentioned that FB has always prioritized optimization over…

Facebook is in one industry. Amazon just keeps expanding into more and more.

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

#173

Theory on facebook failure/Google failure to innovate: They have the highest leetcode standards out of FAANG. As does Snap. They hire people that basically memorized computer science algorithms. And so their employees are bookish, not innovative people. Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon do not have the same issues with creating new products. Keith Rabois (top VC), mentioned that FB has always prioritized optimization over…

This seems like wishful thinking. Why assume that academic intelligence makes you less creative? Do you think that people who graduate with high grades out of Harvard/MIT/Stanford are less creative than people who graduate from second-tier universities because they are too bookish? I think the reality is probably that it's hard for any large company to be truly innovative. Once you get to a certain size, red tape and…

> This seems like wishful thinking. Why assume that academic intelligence makes you less creative?

Unfortunately - it's common on HN - I've seen all sorts of hobby-horses tied to creativity. Everything from the economic system (capitalism vs "socialism"[1]), to "freedom", wealth and race (or something close to it as one can make on HN without being flagged - which is close indeed).

In all these scenarios, the commenter's favored group are creative and predestined for success because of their affinity, and the others should fail and therefore will fail and the author will resort to all forms of justifications, despite not having any evidence (or while ignoring the existence of contrary evidence)

1. Once, I couldn't get an answer why DJI was kicking all American drone companies asses (back,when they existed in comparable form), despite all the alleged inherent creativity from living in a country overflowing with freedom.

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

#174

Theory on facebook failure/Google failure to innovate: They have the highest leetcode standards out of FAANG. As does Snap. They hire people that basically memorized computer science algorithms. And so their employees are bookish, not innovative people. Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon do not have the same issues with creating new products. Keith Rabois (top VC), mentioned that FB has always prioritized optimization over…

leetcode isn't that hard though.

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

#175
post #53

Theory on facebook failure/Google failure to innovate: They have the highest leetcode standards out of FAANG. As does Snap. They hire people that basically memorized computer science algorithms. And so their employees are bookish, not innovative people. Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon do not have the same issues with creating new products. Keith Rabois (top VC), mentioned that FB has always prioritized optimization over…

You really think Google have a failure to innovate? Obviously search was their first, core innovation, but over the years they’ve delivered so many other successful products (many acquired, true, but even those they’ve evolved really well). Off the top of my head: - Maps - AdWords - Gmail - YouTube - Analytics - Translate - Calendar - Sheets - Docs - Drive - Meet - Slides - Drawings - Forms - Trends - Alerts I’m sure…

acquisition is not innovation. However, they did make some very shrewd business moves there.

Google makes all their money off search advertising. They always have, and still do. They are a one trick pony with one REALLY good trick.

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

#176

Theory on facebook failure/Google failure to innovate: They have the highest leetcode standards out of FAANG. As does Snap. They hire people that basically memorized computer science algorithms. And so their employees are bookish, not innovative people. Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon do not have the same issues with creating new products. Keith Rabois (top VC), mentioned that FB has always prioritized optimization over…

It sounds like you have an irrational grudge against Leetcode-style interviews.

> Theory on facebook failure/Google failure to innovate: They have the highest leetcode standards out of FAANG. As does Snap.

As does Tik Tok, perhaps even more so.

> lower level engineers hired ten years ago do rise to the top and run whole divisions

Engineers have little say into product decisions, even if they run whole divisions. Nobody is criticizing the engineering decisions Facebook and Google are making. Just their products.

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

#179
> “I guarantee that every single person who liked and shared that post about bringing Instagram back to what it was, would spend way less time on Instagram if it reverted back to how it used to be,”

This is what I also think. People (or, the mass of the users) keep following users that posts a lot of videos, they watch a lot of reels and like those... So instagram is doing the correct thing (for their goals of keeping people using it) in focusing on reels.

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

#180

Theory on facebook failure/Google failure to innovate: They have the highest leetcode standards out of FAANG. As does Snap. They hire people that basically memorized computer science algorithms. And so their employees are bookish, not innovative people. Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon do not have the same issues with creating new products. Keith Rabois (top VC), mentioned that FB has always prioritized optimization over…

I wonder how many of the people echoing this sentiment have tried and failed to clear the Leetcode bar at these top companies. It's hard to explain this level of consensus as anything other than motivated reasoning. As an earlier commenter stated, "I can believe that Leetcode is uncorrelated with creativity, but I have a hard time believing it's inversely correlated." The anti-Leetcode leaning on this site has the sa…

I have worked at two top tech companies, and previously worked on an ML research team for an investment firm. I am speaking from first hand experience
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