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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

#241

Post by xtracto »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #226
mnd999 wrote: 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.

Interestingly, I remember when Facebook made a similar change to their feed, it was about 12-15 years ago, where they essentially made it much more like Twitter. I absolutely despised it, I still despise it to this day, and I think it was the point where I realized how social networks are all actively out to basically destroy you (I'm being hyperbolic, but only slightly). That is, if they really wanted to make it eas…

I want the social network equivalent of "slow food": All social networks try to optimise for very the wrong metrics for the users, but right metrics for their customers (advertisers).

I want a social network where it is OK for people to sporadically add vanal posts. A social network that does not prioritize outrage or contention. And a social network were my close circle is actually discoverable, with high SNR.

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

#242

Post by abbusfoflouotne »

cycomanic wrote: post #98
bognition wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mostly agree with you here. The other big thing is that Zuckerberg is really good at seeing the business value in other people's ideas. He chases financial value by copying what other companies do. Instead companies like Amazon and Apple are obsessed with generating real world value for the customers and let financial value follow. Without a doubt Zuck sets the business culture, people that think like him and solve…

> Instead companies like Amazon and Apple are obsessed with generating real world value for the customers and let financial value follow. While I would argue that even Apple is mostly about execution not innovation (many of Apple innovations had been around for a while, but apple took execution to a different level), but Amazon?! What are the big Amazon innovations? The one click checkout? Having pushed selling books…

While amazon may not be as innovative as other FAANG companies, they do have execution down to a science. Supply chain, AWS, etc. all work WAY better than competitors in the market

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

#243

Post by raz32dust »

fdgsdfogijq wrote: post #9

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…

Engineering at FB/Google has not shown any dearth of innovation, even recently. The premise is just wrong.

[1] https://research.facebook.com/publications/ [2] https://research.google/pubs/

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

#244

Post by MattPalmer1086 »

chadash wrote: post #123
fdgsdfogijq wrote: post #9

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…

I recommend a book called "inside the tornado", which deals with innovation at larger companies.

https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Inside-the-Tornado...

His previous book "Crossing the Chasm" was also good, but that dealt with startups trying to find market fit.

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

#246

Post by dagw »

_jal wrote: post #116
yashap wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Edited to add acquisitions, where appropriate: - Maps (Keyhole, Where2, Endoxion) - AdWords (Doubleclick) - Gmail (reMail) - YouTube (Youtube) - Analytics (Urchin) - Translate (Phonetic Arts) - Calendar (Timeful) - Docs (Upstartle)

Google Maps, the web application, was not an acquisition. Google bought two companies that made desktop mapping tools (One of them lived on as Google Earth Pro and was a commercial product they kept selling for years) and used that as a basis for developing the web based Google Maps.

Also based on everything I can find, Gmail started as an in house project. reMail was acquired 5+ years after Gmail launched.

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

#247

Post by kache_ »

fdgsdfogijq wrote: post #61
kache_ wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

High G factor correlates with high creativity. I see a direct correlation to coming up with creative solutions and being able to solve a battery of tests. A lot of the leetcode hate mostly exists because it's hard. And a lot of coding interview problems actually require a lot of creativity to solve. And imagine thinking that facebook isn't innovating. Facebook is leading the future of virtual reality, and leading AI…

Theres a difference between creating beautiful creative code and creating an innovative product that people want to use. Its a different type of intelligence, and why you dont see Math professors starting ecommerce/product businesses.

good thing we have product managers whose entire job is to herd us cats :P

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

#248

Post by xtracto »

and-not-drew wrote: post #193
jeremymims wrote: post #101

Steve Jobs famously said that he saw the computer as a "bicycle of the mind." He saw technology as a tool to amplify humanity's abilities. Mark Zuckerberg has chosen to build a "casino of the mind." Facebook and Instagram have been purpose-built to amplify and prey on humanity's weaknesses. The fact that "Meta" is now trying to make their casino _even more_ addictive to compete with TikTok does not bode well for the…

While casino is probably the best comparison, I've always thought of social media as kind of the high fructose corn syrup for this generation. We took something that in small doses isn't really an issue and over optimized without thinking of the human cost. We've figured out the most addictive part and have turned that up to 11 and are now realizing, "oh shit, maybe that was too much".

This is the problem with most "free" digital services now: games, social nets, news sites, etc. They are optimizing user behaviour to cater their customers (advertisers), so they estimulate addictive behaviour.

I blame advertising based internet. It pushes the wrong incentives for service providers.

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

#249

Post by dang »

mnd999 wrote: 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.

Could you please follow the site guidelines when posting here? Note this one:

"When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. 'That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3' can be shortened to '1 + 1 is 2, not 3."

Similarly, 'You’re optimising the wrong metric you fucking clown' can be shortened to 'You’re optimising the wrong metric'.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

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

#250

Post by just_boost_it »

redblacktree wrote: post #121
just_boost_it wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't see IRC coming back as there's just slightly too much friction for the common person to get up and running. I could see websites coming back (I mean like the way people used to actually browse websites instead of social media). The problem with websites at the moment is discoverability. Google's SEO is a major roadblock to this at the moment. A way around it might be a "web of discoverability", with meaningfu…

> a "web of discoverability", with meaningful, relevant links on each website curated by the site owners themselves. Are you old enough to remember "web rings?"

Not quite it seems. I was a kid when Facebook came out. I remember what it was like to find websites that had real, bizarre, and innovative content, but I was too young to pick up on the terminology or appreciate how any of it worked.
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