Octopus Overlords

Elon wants Google to buy Twitter from him, and a partnership might get him there. Or make Twitter more attractive to another buyer.

But not Facebook, apparently. I don’t think knowing Joe Rogan is going to save Elon.

Twitter’s algorithm is convinced I like two things, both of which I absolutely cannot stand:
1. Pro wrestling
2. Rap music

At least every third post in my feed is about one or the other, despite the fact that I have a) never clicked in, liked, commented, or interacted with any of them in any way whatsoever, and b) actively either block or click on the “not interested in this topic” on nearly all of them.

Twitter probably found out what you've been saying about Elon and is punishing you for your heresy. The Algorithm™ is working as intended.

You're probably lucky to be getting what you're getting. From other comments I've seen, the usual default feed filler these days is a stready dribble of extreme right-wing nonsense.

The algorithm isn’t trying to predict what you like, it’s trying to predict what you will engage with. They know people are more likely to engage with things that annoy them.

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 11:18 am Twitter’s algorithm is convinced I like two things, both of which I absolutely cannot stand:
1. Pro wrestling
2. Rap music

At least every third post in my feed is about one or the other, despite the fact that I have a) never clicked in, liked, commented, or interacted with any of them in any way whatsoever, and b) actively either block or click on the “not interested in this topic” on nearly all of them.

Zarathud wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2023 2:58 pm Elon wants Google to buy Twitter from him, and a partnership might get him there. Or make Twitter more attractive to another buyer.

Probably because he's had his fun and wants to get off the bus now, seeing as he never really wanted to own it in the first place. I don't know if there's a minimum amount of years you have to own something before being able to sell it off though.

RunningMn9 wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 11:39 am The algorithm isn’t trying to predict what you like, it’s trying to predict what you will engage with. They know people are more likely to engage with things that annoy them.

Here’s what I don’t get though. I’m not “engaging” with rap and wresting content in any way. That content doesn’t entice me to use their platform (quite the opposite). I don’t seek it out. I’m not commenting on it, positively or negatively. It doesn’t make me want to engage with Twitter’s advertisers. It doesn’t drive any sort of engagement from me outside of telling it to stop.

I don’t understand how that’s a benefit or a win for Twitter in any way whatsoever.

At this point, I don't think there's any point in assuming that Twitter's algorithm is "working" in any meaningful sense, at any given time, other than filling your feed with content. When it comes to Twitter 2.0, shit is broken and may or may get fixed any time soon all the time.

RunningMn9 wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 11:39 am The algorithm isn’t trying to predict what you like, it’s trying to predict what you will engage with. They know people are more likely to engage with things that annoy them.

Very much this. I assume most/all social media algorithms don't give a shit about what you like or don't like. They are designed foir one thing: to make you click, engage, stay, watch, scroll, etc. Whatever it takes to make that happen. Many people "stay" because of rage, or anger, or negative feelings. They want to raise their voice about something they hate (or love). You might be a blip in the matrix.

And even if it were working, it isn't just about your interests. Social media algorithms typically look more at the people you talk to, whose posts you comment on, who you follow, and who follows you. They then find out what those people engage with and they shove that in front of your eyeballs hoping you'll add something new to your repertoire, thus increasing the number of things that connect you to their service.

For instance, if you only follow board games, they'll recommend board games, role-playing games, and wargames. But they'll also recommend things that other users who like board games go for. Youl'll see them pushing sci-fi and fantasy movies, comic book movies, military topics (via the wargamers), and video games, plus stuff about celebrities popular with that crowd (so Game of Thrones and MCU actors, for instance.) And if you got into a couple of board game conversations with someone who is a right-wing nutjob (even if it wasn't apparent from that conversation), plus you have a couple of people on your friends list who are right-wingers (maybe family), you'll see the things that they engage with, too.

The reasoning, again, is that if you're only there for board games, and you burn out on board games, you're gone. But if they can attach a half a dozen other chains to you, you'll stay.

tl;dr - it's less about showing you what you like and more about manipulating you into connections that will keep you coming back.

Carpet_pissr wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 1:25 pmYou might be a blip in the matrix.

This is likely a large part of the issue. I only follow about 25 people (mostly political types, a few NFL and College football folks, and a few “cute animal” accounts). I have - very intentionally - never engaged with any Twitter content whatsoever. Never liked a post about anything. Never shared anything. Never commented on anything. Never re-tweeted anything. Never posted anything myself. I’ve also neve intentionally clicked a Twitter ad, although that sometimes accidentally happens as I’m scrolling.

My guess is that it’s grasping at straws to figure out what I want to see. Just funny that the two things it comes up with (over and over again) are literally two of the things I care about or want to engage with the least in the entire world.

Anybody know a way to tame Facebook ads when using that app on a phone?

Ordinarily I browse FB on my computer, where ads are just a minor nuisance easily scrolled past. I barely even notice them. Different story on the mobile app. The site is almost unreadable due to the intrusive nature of the ads.

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 2:05 pmMy guess is that it’s grasping at straws to figure out what I want to see. Just funny that the two things it comes up with (over and over again) are literally two of the things I care about or want to engage with the least in the entire world.

Again, probably working as intended. You're on here talking about it after all. It's triggered SOMEthing in you enough that you felt you needed to post about it. Generating "content".

Kraken wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 2:08 pm Anybody know a way to tame Facebook ads when using that app on a phone?

I hate using facebook on my phone, I miss the days when craigslist was the big deal instead of facebook marketplace.

Kraken wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 2:08 pm Anybody know a way to tame Facebook ads when using that app on a phone?

Nope. On PC, my ad blocker makes them all go away. That's why they prefer that you use the app - it gives them total control. For instance, on PC I use a link that completely bypasses their idiotic algorithm and shows me all posts in chronological order, starting with the most recent. You know, a useful format rather than putting some obscure bullshit on top and meaningful posts from family and friends twenty pages of scrolling down. You know, showing me what I want to see instead of what they want me to see.

Bypassing their ads and their algorithm makes Facebook a sad, sad company. I feel no sympathy.

Carpet_pissr wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 2:11 pm

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 2:05 pmMy guess is that it’s grasping at straws to figure out what I want to see. Just funny that the two things it comes up with (over and over again) are literally two of the things I care about or want to engage with the least in the entire world.

Again, probably working as intended. You're on here talking about it after all. It's triggered SOMEthing in you enough that you felt you needed to post about it. Generating "content".

I guess. Still unsure how that benefits Twitter in any way whatsoever, but I've given up trying to understand social media. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Every extra post you read, everything you click, everything you post, every comment you make, every person you follow benefits Twitter. It keeps you looking longer, and it keeps you coming back. The 'algorithm' is 100% about manipulating you into doing those things.

And yeah, it's likely that if you didn't give the AI enough input it may just be throwing things at the wall and hoping something sticks. It's also likely that the algorithm is completely broken right now due to Elon Busk giving insane orders to adjust it to his liking. They wanted the algorithm to be smart, like a money-making Skynet. What they got was The Computer from Paranoia.

Not that I'm saying that The Computer isn't smart, or couldn't make money. If that's what it wanted to do. Um, in fact I'm sure that The Computer could beat Skynet up and take its lunch money. If it wanted to.

Oh, god ...

(Wait... is 'oh god' evidence of being in a secret society?)

This Chrome extension is another option for blocking ads/suggestions on Facebook on Chrome Desktop. Note that it also removes Reels and Shorts though. But that's exactly what I wanted, as I was never able to stop porny videos from coming up even after downvoting hundreds. Now, Facebook Shorts are garbage to begin with compared to any other vertical video platform. But that didn't stop me from clicking on them when I was bored. I don't even have the Facebook app on my phone anymore. If I really need to check it I do it via mobile browser.

I see that Facebook looks better through my phone's browser. Only reason to use the app is for Messenger, which my family uses extensively.

Isn't Messenger decoupled from the core FB app now?

Yep, although it's still hooked into FB. If trying to access Messenger on FB, you still need the Messenger app. But recently they've added end-to-end encryption.

As of this morning, I'm unable to view anything on Twitter (other than the "front page") without logging into an account. This being Twitter 2.0, I have no idea if it's because things are working as intended or something is broken. Or both, I suppose.

I may go into Ukrainian war information withdrawal at any moment...

A quick check shows lots of other people commenting on it. Can't have people using the service without registering as a product now, can we?

It looks like one work-around for now is to go through nitter.net (i.e. change the URL from twitter.com to nitter.net).

For those wondering, it's official:

If you currently try to access Twitter without logging in to your user account, you may find you’re unable to see any of the content that was previously available to the wider public. Instead, you’ll likely be met with the Twitter window that asks you to either sign in to the platform or create a new account, effectively blocking you from viewing tweets and user profiles or browsing through threads unless you’re a registered Twitter user.

Maybe:

Twitter has yet to make a public announcement, so it’s currently unclear if this is an intentional update or another technical mishap. If Twitter stands by the changes, however, they both contradict and support other actions that owner Elon Musk has taken in the past year. In 2022, Musk hired noted iPhone hacker George Hotz to fix its search feature and get rid of the login prompt that prevents unregistered users from browsing the website. Hotz resigned less than halfway through his 12-week internship with the company, claiming he “didn’t think there was any real impact I could make there.” In April this year, Twitter then eliminated the platform’s search feature for unregistered users entirely.

Wouldn't be surprised if it were intentional. I would call it being Musked.

If you can't fix it, shut it off.

Max Peck wrote: Fri Jun 30, 2023 12:49 pm It looks like one work-around for now is to go through nitter.net (i.e. change the URL from twitter.com to nitter.net).

It looks like nitter is completely busted now too, at least for the accounts I checked.

Some quick googlery shows that it's non-functional everywhere. That's what they get for not heeding the ever-growing whims of Overlord Musk.

I'm not a programmer, but maybe it has to do with this:



All that money and he's still an idiot. If unverified (i.e. "free") accounts are going to be limited to seeing 600 posts a day? The death of Twitter is now on the horizon.

I hit the rate limit almost immediately and it was intolerable. I’m done with this nonsense.

RunningMn9 wrote: Sat Jul 01, 2023 2:53 pm I hit the rate limit almost immediately and it was intolerable. I’m done with this nonsense.

Do you have the fealty checkmark? If not, you need to get the fealty checkmark.

A little birdy told me that they seem to be counting each comment/reply/whatever as an additional view, so people are getting rate limited really fast.

LawBeefaroni wrote: Sat Jul 01, 2023 3:01 pm

RunningMn9 wrote: Sat Jul 01, 2023 2:53 pm I hit the rate limit almost immediately and it was intolerable. I’m done with this nonsense.

Do you have the fealty checkmark? If not, you need to get the fealty checkmark.

What kind of debasing acts must you perform to get that?

Smoove_B wrote: Sat Jul 01, 2023 2:18 pm I'm not a programmer, but maybe it has to do with this:



All that money and he's still an idiot. If unverified (i.e. "free") accounts are going to be limited to seeing 600 posts a day? The death of Twitter is now on the horizon.

Is “verified” the Blue Check of Idiocy? Or just that you set up an account?

If it’s blue check, then I guess I’ll be done with Twitter then, because it’ll be a cold day in hell before I send Elon a penny.

I’ve been getting the “something went wrong” message most of today. Meh.

Skinypupy wrote: Sat Jul 01, 2023 3:07 pm Is “verified” the Blue Check of Idiocy? Or just that you set up an account?

Yes, "verified" means you paid $11. Not that you're actually legitimate in any way.

He has to be trying to kill the platform because I refuse to believe he actually thinks this is a big-brain move.

https://twitter.com/Esqueer_/status/1675199060356022272

My guess is that this is the first day of Q3 and Twitter literally has no cash flow to pay its cloud vendors so they have to cut usage substantially.

It's about to go bankrupt and Linda will be thrown off the glass cliff.

Oh no. Twitter may die. Whatever shall I do.

(Trying to write in an ironically flat tone is difficult.)

I get that people hate Elon and the death of Twitter will be fun to watch, but I really need to reiterate that for so many legitimate accounts, nothing is quite the same as Twitter - emergency management in particular. Yes there are other services, but overwhelmingly Twitter has been highly, highly valuable in emergency situations. I don't mean for it to sound so dramatic, but when Twitter finally implodes, there will definitely be loss.

I get that, but I also feel that Twitter continuing is a loss.

Musk has been telegraphing an implosion for so long that I'd hope that a lot of those services have spent time looking for an alternative. Nobody should be caught by surprise here.