On Algorithms and Impossible Conversations

On the Fediverse you can follow everyone on an instance, or you can follow the people that you want to follow. Hypothetically you can follow key words, and with time follow more people, and eventually find a community.

On Threads, BlueSky, X, Instagram and TikTok what you see is selected by algorithms, so you don’t need to follow anyone because every time you scroll or refresh you will be fed something new.

This “always new” situation is fantastic, if you’re married, have children, and a strong social network, and you’re just killing time while waiting for a bus, train, or a play to start, or a film to start.

If you’re single, looking for conversation then you’re presented with a huge amount of noise. Content might be worthwhile, and it may be engaging, but it isn’t engaged. We give our attention, but our attention is not given back. If we spend 20 hours reading the Threads timeline, or X, we see noise. We see posts, and we can answer, but it is likely that our answer is just noise.

Back in 2008 or so I had a rule. If I “reply” three times, and I’m ignored three times, I unfollow the person, for two reasons. The first is that it might be unwelcome, and I don’t want to nag people. The second reason is that if I’m giving someone my attention, I’d like it to reciprocal on social media. That’s why I use social media, and social networks. For me it’s about a healthy community.

Threads, X and Bluesky are not healthy, because the people we want to follow are hidden, and the people who are most popular according to the algorithms are most visible. Being social, and being visible is turned into a popularity contest.

The problem with algorithms is that, whether you spend ten hours or ten minutes, you will get the same noise. Whether you follow ten people or a thousand. In the end your investment in time and attention is wasted.

In the past, when we invested time in social networks, and social media, we were investing in a community, and today we are not investing in a community, we are wasting our time.

That’s why today I invested in two cycling communities. One road from 8am but I had to start my ride at 06:50, and the second started riding around 10am. I invested six hours in communites, in person, rather than “social” media, because to me, the Return On Investment is greater.