algorithms
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I’d Pay Facebook to Show Me Less, Not More
Three Quid for Fewer Adverts. That’s Not the Problem. Facebook isn’t annoying because of the adverts. It’s annoying because it won’t leave you alone. I tried the £3 a month ad-free option. Not because I’m glued to it. I’m not. I dip in, check a couple of local groups, maybe post something for Andy’s Man…
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Medium’s Algorithm Turned Your Feed Into an Echo Chamber
Medium used to be brilliant – a proper treasure trove of diverse content on every subject you could imagine. Now? The algorithm’s turned it into a one-note echo chamber where a single click defines your entire identity. While the platform’s trying to fix the spam problem, they’re mostly making it worse for everyone. Here’s what’s…
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Your Brain Is Being Hijacked for Profit. Here’s the Proof.
In Brief: That viral post about Australian swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan threatening to boycott the 2028 Olympics over Lia Thomas? Completely fabricated. O’Callaghan never said it, Swimming Australia officially intervened to get it removed, and Thomas can’t compete in 2028 anyway because World Aquatics already banned her in 2022 after she lost her legal challenge. The…
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YouTube Censorship – When Content Creators Bleep the Truth
I get proper pissed off by this, and I can’t be the only one noticing it. You watch these long-form interview channels on YouTube, the ones where someone sits down for an hour or two with people who’ve got genuinely important stories to tell. Prison officers, social workers, police officers, people who’ve lived through awful…
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Criticising the Machine Algorithm Game While Feeding It
There’s a pattern I can’t unsee anymore. It’s so flipping common. Plenty of tech commentators on YouTube and podcasts love to rant about algorithms. About AI. About attention. About how recommendation engines are rewiring us, shortening our focus, spoon-feeding us ideas instead of forcing us to think. They’ll ask the big questions. All valid questions.…
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Streaming Platform Rearranged Itself Again (It’s Not an Accident)
Remember browsing a shop, spotting something interesting, nipping out to fetch a mate, and returning to find the entire aisle rearranged? Course not – because shops don’t work that way. But streaming platforms and social media do exactly that, and they’ve convinced everyone it’s normal. Tap back to where content was moments ago, and it’s…
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YouTube’s Productivity Trap – Why You Feel Less Capable
YouTube hasn’t just become a place to learn how to do things. It’s become a place where you’re constantly told that whatever you’re already doing is wrong, inefficient, amateurish, or quietly sabotaging your future. Not bad enough to stop, obviously. Just bad enough to make you feel uneasy. That low-grade itch of “I probably should…
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The Algorithm Con – How Social Media Manipulates Us
Algorithms, algorithms, algorithms. That’s all we’ve been hearing about for years now. And here we are, midway through 2023, watching the AI bandwagon race along at full speed, churning out generated content, videos, articles, the lot. Bullshit everywhere, made by AI. And the search results? Completely screwed. Google’s algorithms haven’t caught up. Did they ever?…