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SOCIAL MEDIA
One Feature I’d Like to See on Youtube, Medium and Social Media
It’s the users who should control the algorithm, not the other way around
Sometimes I use private browsing to visit Youtube and each time I’m baffled by the content that I see. Videos with millions of views I had no idea even exist. Mostly it is shit I’d never click anyway, but who knows, maybe I’m missing out on something important?
It’s been explained so many times that it is not worth repeating; internet sites collect our data to enhance and personalise our experience. Indeed, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and even Medium wouldn’t be half of what they are without the algorithms that curate the content we get.
Which is generally good, but it creates an echo-chamber of our likes and makes us ignorant of the vast majority of the internet. The sheer overload of content calls for an effective filter, but on the other hand logging into my Youtube or Medium account makes me much harder to find content outside of my thought-bubble.
That could be a problem. From time to time I want to be challenged, I want to hear the other side of the argument and be surprised by something I’d never even think to search for.
