Comment by markdown
15 hours ago
> In the US social media platforms are designed to push content they want you to see
Who is they?
Anyway, you're wrong. TikTok pushes videos you want to see, while US app algos push content you are most likely to engage with. These are not the same thing. In fact, content one most engages with is content that generates outrage. Try not to get angry when you open Twitter. It's not easy.
> Who is they?
Whoever runs the platform. That's the value they see in their platforms: the ability to control what you see, when you see it, and how you see it. You might only want to see what your friends and family have been up to, and in chronological order, but they are going to make sure you have to constantly scroll past shit you couldn't care less about to get to it, especially when that shit is advertising.
Not only do they do this for marketers, they actually think that making their users regularly disappointed and frustrated is a good thing. They think that forcing you to hunt for what you want makes finding it more rewarding and while you're scrolling past garbage/ads or searching for something you just saw, and cursing the obnoxious algorithm for hiding what you actually want they call it "engagement".
TikTok is also guilty of influencing what you see but they stay out of your way as much as possible. They bombard you with what you came for every minute you spend there. TikTok is massively popular and addictive because of that. US platforms could do that too, but their customers are advertisers - people who want nothing except to take your attention away from what you want to see.
You can go to twitter and get offended by bots, or you can go on TikTok and get bathed in dopamine. There's room enough on the internet for both experiences, but don't be surprised when people feel frustrated and annoyed by one of them and not the other.
Well yeah, you've got to stay angry at the right people at all times. As long as 49.9% of us are preoccupied with hating the other 49.9% of us, it's nice and cheap for the 0.02% to run the show. That's the social media value prop: division as a service.
> Anyway, you're wrong. TikTok pushes videos you want to see, while US app algos push content you are most likely to engage with.
No. US apps push creators, TikTok pushes content.
On TikTok, its the content that goes viral. Some nobody with 700 followers can have a video explode. That is exceedingly rare on YouTube. Its usually the channels with 1 million subscribers.
Advertisers love that, and so do platform owners. Its much easier to control and squeeze a few creators rather than a big diffuse group.
> Advertisers love that, and so do platform owners. Its much easier to control and squeeze a few creators rather than a big diffuse group.
There’s most likely some middle ground for this. Too diffuse and it makes direct sponsorship difficult meaning the platform has more control over advertisements as they need to be algorithmically placed. Too centralized and you’re back in the land of cable where your advertising is less effective because of the broad cross section of the audience watching.
As far as “squeezing” creators goes… no, more centralized means higher demand which means higher pay and more control in creators hands.
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