Instagram Will Show More Recent Posts Due To Algorithm Backlash (techcrunch.com) 29
Instagram announced today that it will show more new posts and stop suddenly bumping you to the top of the feed while you're scrolling. "With these changes, your feed will feel more fresh, and you won't miss the moments you care about," Instagram writes. TechCrunch reports: Instagram switched from a reverse chronological feed to a relevancy-sorted feed in June 2016, leading to lots of grumbling from hardcore users. While it made sure you wouldn't miss the most popular posts from your close friends, showing days-old posts made Instagram feel stale. And for certain types of professional content creators and merchants, cutting their less likable posts out of the feed -- like their calls to buy their products or follow their other social accounts -- was detrimental to their business. Instagram and Facebook moved to hide these posts over time because they can feel spammy.
FB owns Instagram (Score:4, Informative)
Why don't sites get it? (Score:3, Insightful)
I *ALWAYS* want "most recent" first.
This goes for *ALL* websites. For the love of fucking God and all things holy, stop trying to predict what you think I want to see. When you predict, you are ALWAYS WRONG.
This goes for Yelp, Google reviews, Amazon, YouTube, FB, and the list goes on and on and on and on.
Re: (Score:3)
Nope, he's right. Most recent FIRST. And include a full and obvious timestamp on it. I shouldn't have to hunt for a link to mouse over or some icon to click to expose a timestamp.
Re:Why don't sites get it? (Score:5, Insightful)
You see the same problem in Apple's walled garden, cellular carriers making certain apps on your phone undeletable, and printer manufacturers trying to restrict which ink cartridges you're allowed to use. VLC had the same problem - I and lots of others wanted to use the mouse wheel to seek (FF/RW) through the video. The main programmer thought it should control the volume, and refused to allow users to use it to seek. It was years before he finally relented and allowed an option to change the wheel's function to seek.
The real problem here is lack of respect for the user. Treating them like cattle instead of customers, just because you can.
Re: Why don't sites get it? (Score:3)
It's been said a million times, but it's still true: the users *are* cattle. They're the product. Advertisers, PR firms, and the regime are the customers.
Re: (Score:2)
It's been said a million times, but it's still true: the users *are* cattle.
That's a bunch of bull!
Re: (Score:2)
I'm the opposite. I hate how timelines are always moving on and scrolling off, despite some older interesting content still attracting comments. In this way timelines suck compared to forum threads, which are bumped to the top with each new reply.
The increasing ephemeral nature of content and attention is killing our culture and intellectual lives.
If I had my way, sites like Slashdot would have some LTS (long-term support) stories, which stay on the home page for an extended period while still popular.
I imagine it works like this. (Score:3)
While it made sure you wouldn't miss the most popular posts from your close friends, ...
The algorithm, like the one on Twitter, makes visibility a popularity contest whereby people (accounts) with fewer followers and/or posts get dumped to the bottom of the feed, never to be noticed or loved by anyone.
Re: (Score:2)
Yup, Twitter's algorithm is useless. It's IMPOSSIBLE to find the latest shit now. It's not chronological, and it's not even deterministic.
scroll bumps (Score:2)
Bumping my scrolling mid-flight is instantaneous carotid rupture territory.
Some terminals do that when you're trying to cut and paste.
Good thing my GP didn't get a BP reading during those moments, or I'd be on seven flavours of Lipitor already.
Re: scroll bumps (Score:2)
What's shocking is that is the app's *intended* behavior. I always figured it was just an annoying bug in their shitty Agile(tm) software.
Fuck you, Instagram. What scumbags.