
See the Moments You Care About First - msoad
http://blog.instagram.com/post/141107034797/160315-news
======
readams
The reason they want to do the algorithmic streams is that it opens up vast
opportunities for monetization. It used to be on Facebook you'd be able to
reach any one who liked your page if you were a brand. Now the only way is to
pay Facebook. None of this is by accident. The stream algorithm is the engine
that drives the sky-high value of Facebook.

~~~
bennesvig
I know one household consumer brand with 1+million fans. They spend a
ridiculous amount boosting Facebook posts. Otherwise about 10 people will see
a photo.

------
themartorana
No no no no ugh please no...

I want to see my friends' pictures. In the order they post them. I do not want
a computer trying to determine which of my friends are more important to me, I
assure you it will be wrong.

UGH I say.

~~~
osi
++UGH

I wonder how many instagram users have a manageable number of friends and can
easily scroll and see all new photos. Now I'm worries I'll miss photos from
friends because the feed re-order them.

~~~
fluxquanta
Please forgive my rambling Wednesday musings, but this trend toward curated
content from social media apps seems to be mimicking the capitalism-critical
idea that "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer".

These algorithms are likely prioritizing likes/favorites/followers/friends to
determine what you probably want to see. People who are established in the
ecosystem already (those who were "born rich") have an advantage. Meanwhile
the guy who only averages one or two likes is destined for obscurity even if
he or she drops a bombshell quality photo/comment/whatever.

People use and love social media because every like is an expression of
someone paying attention to your life -- a reaffirmation that your moment is
special to others in some way. If all of a sudden you get less attention
because the system determines your contribution is not worthy of that
attention you're more likely to leave the ecosystem.

------
forthefuture
I think it's really interesting that metrics apparently support facebook and
twitter constantly moving towards curation.

I enjoy consuming content chronologically because I can go from [what I saw
last] to [now] and never miss anything, but I guess most people follow too
many things and/or don't have enough time to exhaust their feeds throughout
the day.

I personally wouldn't get as much out of Hacker News if hckrnews.com didn't
exist.

~~~
acheron
Yes. I stopped using Facebook as much when they got rid of the chronological
order feed. I know Twitter keeps talking about it and if they truly went to it
then it would destroy the service. I don't use instagram but I'm sure it's the
same thing.

It's obviously not for user benefit, so I think it's mainly a monetezation
thing. Once you aren't committed to showing things in chronological order, you
can charge to appear at higher spots. This is what happened at Facebook --
work businesses and organizations put in to get organic "likes" was suddenly
made worthless, but coincidentally here's how to purchase ads!

~~~
keeperofdakeys
Twitter have implemented it, but it's an optional global setting (for now).

------
simplexion
The thing that stopped me using Facebook and start using Instagram more is now
coming to Instagram. Thanks, Facebook! I hope you give me the option to revert
for a while before making it too annoying to do so.

------
dilemma
This marks the day when Instagram switched from providing a service for their
users to providing a service for advertisers. With this algorithm in place,
they can also sell premium positions in people's feeds. For this reason it
also marks the start of a slow, eventual decline. It won't happen for a long
time, but eventually Instagram will be replaced when the gap between user
needs and what they get becomes too large, and a competitor appears with a
solution to those needs.

------
ibarreto
I really hope there is an option to choose if you want the curated version or
the chronological one. I always check Instagram posts up until the point I
left previously, and I don't miss anything that way.

------
begemotz
welcome to the filter bubble 2.0

------
rshaban
Since Facebook bought Instagram, it has been quite enjoyable to watch which
features Facebook borrows from Instagram and vice versa. Moving Instagram
towards more of a News Feed will probably improve the interface for most users

~~~
jeffbr13
We definitely need better filtering on incoming feeds so we don't inundate our
attention-spans. But Facebook's curation algorithms are one-size-fits-all.
While that might work for a general search engine looking for information in
the wider world, it's dangerous in personal communication. You suddenly have a
third-party deciding and making value judgements about what you should or
should not see.

~~~
prawn
Like a TV channel interspersed with ads.

------
dexterdog
Isn't this what Twitter users wanted to revolt over?

