For news, algorithmic social networks are a failed experiment

People are in bubbles and social media has largely failed to democratize information if most of the content is hidden from their view based on algorithms. When (then-named) Twitter changed to an algorithmic feed for their main view in 2016, people revolted but then acclimated. Other social media site followed, namely Facebook and Instagram. The main feeds of most apps is fed by opaque rules driven by monetizing views, not delivering relevant content.

Once Elon took over Twitter, the algorithm reflected his own views and needs, which is why many users are leaving. Its a mess of hate speech and general awfulness in the name of “free speech.”

Meta’s Threads is such a Twitter clone that it also uses an algorithmic feed. Personally, I can say that I prefer the “Following” feed on Instagram rather than the default view. Facebook, both individually or for a business page I run, is full of irrelevant info from people I don’t interact with, people and content being forced on me for some reason, and old posts with news that is no longer breaking. Its one of the reasons why I don’t use Facebook anymore.

New users have flocked to Bluesky in the wake of the exodus from Twitter, neé X. One of the reasons why people might be liking it are the ways in which algorithms are not the default, they are only an option. The default is posts from people you follow and actually care about. A “Discover” tab gives you content fed algorithmically from people you do not follow, and the better use case is also in a “Popular with Friends” tab, where content is fed based on people you already follow.

The benefit of a timeline feed is of course breaking news and relevance. During the election, Threads showed old news posts and it took some time for the feed to catch up with what was previously happening in real time. When the President of South Korea declared Marshall law recently,. Threads did not show that content for hours, almost not before the 6 hr declaration was rescinded.

Like the arguments around the idea of “enshittification,” the need of products to push content out to us and create self-imposing bubbles of information goes against what people actually want or need. We have really created a monster here where news and access to information is more difficult on the web and in our apps, not easier.