I worry about this as a part of a larger trend of more proprietary and enforced ignorance in service of vested interests instead of transparency in service of all who can look and think.
Demetrification: Removing the numbers of likes and retweets from public view
31–40 of 42 posts
Re: Demetrification: Removing the numbers of likes and retweets from public view
#32Nice idea, but I think this misses the reality of what is happening. Instagram is removing likes because it incentivises an economic system that they are not only left out of, but is a net cost to them. Top influencers make a lot of money based on those metrics, Instagram doesn't see a cent of that yet they support these "businesses". Does anyone consider what it costs to distribute a post to 10s of millions of peopl…
> expect Instagram to roll out a new system where influencers will need to pay for potential reach and Instagram will start making a lot of money. This makes sense from the perspective of the relationship between, say, Kim Kardashian and Instagram. More reach is directly valuable to some people. But it kind of falls down when you think about the ordinary customer base. A lot of people will want to follow Kim Kardashi…
>you can't see Kim Kardashian's pictures, because 200,000 other people have already signed up to look at them. Try asking Kim to upgrade her account! (But no, you can't message her here.)
That is now how it works. People subscribe to more than one content producer which allows the aggregator the power to merge and reorder the individual streams. You do not pay for being displayed, you pay for being prioritized in the stream.
Re: Demetrification: Removing the numbers of likes and retweets from public view
#33Title got the key name wrong, it's demetrication.
Thanks. I was wondering what Demetri had to do with it...
Re: Demetrification: Removing the numbers of likes and retweets from public view
#34Metrics with hard numbers are always too precise to be useful. Even the well-meaning will micromanage based off the difference of a 5 or 6 on a scale of 50. I find the key is metric obfuscation. Instead of "1023 likes", color code the post. A deep crimson for the most downvoted and a sky blue for the most upvoted on a site. The specific value is so useless anyway.
I actually particularly dislike this, transparent reporting of metrics gives users the ability to have their own interpretation. Instead of guessing why platform Y gave post Z a deep crimson color, which you'd probably not be able to do because of 'algorithms'.
Re: Demetrification: Removing the numbers of likes and retweets from public view
#35I think part of the incentive of using a platform is building up a following to leverage ad revenue yourself. It's currently a win-win. Popular people on social media can get sponsorships, the platform gets to show people ads from their network. Platforms are getting the content for free. If they remove the ability of users to negotiate sponsorships, they'll need to start paying for the content.
Re: Demetrification: Removing the numbers of likes and retweets from public view
#36Metrics with hard numbers are always too precise to be useful. Even the well-meaning will micromanage based off the difference of a 5 or 6 on a scale of 50. I find the key is metric obfuscation. Instead of "1023 likes", color code the post. A deep crimson for the most downvoted and a sky blue for the most upvoted on a site. The specific value is so useless anyway.
I actually particularly dislike this, transparent reporting of metrics gives users the ability to have their own interpretation. Instead of guessing why platform Y gave post Z a deep crimson color, which you'd probably not be able to do because of 'algorithms'.
Most people using metrics aren't great at interpreting them on their own in the first place. Look at Chile's notorious misuse of waiter ranking (you fill out a survey after your meal). If a server gets less than 5 stars, their job is on the line. Nevermind the fact that each customer will use the 5 star system differently to communicate different feelings. Some people will never give a 5 star rating.
If it involves people other than you, your metrics likely don't mean what you think they mean.
Re: Demetrification: Removing the numbers of likes and retweets from public view
#37Metrics with hard numbers are always too precise to be useful. Even the well-meaning will micromanage based off the difference of a 5 or 6 on a scale of 50. I find the key is metric obfuscation. Instead of "1023 likes", color code the post. A deep crimson for the most downvoted and a sky blue for the most upvoted on a site. The specific value is so useless anyway.
How do you handle the high range of values? In one part of the site 1000 likes may mean a very high number while in other, a high profile could regularly see millions.
Good point, but the overall system could be adjusted any number of ways. The point is to communicate to the user, not throw numbers at them and let them decide what it means.
Re: Demetrification: Removing the numbers of likes and retweets from public view
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's just a simple collapse thread feature.
Not so simple; it persists the collapses somehow (I think server side attached to your account rather than your session.) That’s a lot more complexity than the equivalent Reddit feature, for a change.
Hm... I always thought it has to do with the comments that get slowly grayed out? E.g., for me that was basically a "downvote".
Re: Demetrification: Removing the numbers of likes and retweets from public view
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m glad YouTube didn’t develop a lot. Right now it does the job, supports everything I want as a user and mostly stays out of my way. Sites that constantly evolve and try to reinvent themselves annoy me way more.
They still adjust the algorithm all the time and that tends to piss off a lot of people, too.
That alone would probably be okay if they weren't so quick to bend to pressure from a handful of squeaky wheels who happen to think of themselves as competitors to YouTube. ;- )
Re: Demetrification: Removing the numbers of likes and retweets from public view
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not so simple; it persists the collapses somehow (I think server side attached to your account rather than your session.) That’s a lot more complexity than the equivalent Reddit feature, for a change.
Hm... I always thought it has to do with the comments that get slowly grayed out? E.g., for me that was basically a "downvote".
There is a downvote button, but you need some minimum karma for it to be available to you.
I can understand why it might be confusing if there's no downvote arrow visible!