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Review Drift
The Banality of Online Recommendation Culture
A recent surge of human-curated guidance is both a reaction against and an extension of the tyranny of algorithmic recommendations.
By Kyle Chayka
October 30, 2024
Illustration by Ariel Davis
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In the 2010s, affiliate marketing became a dominant strain of online business models. The Wirecutte... See more
A recent surge of human-curated guidance is both a reaction against and an extension of the tyranny of algorithmic recommendations.
By Kyle Chayka
October 30, 2024
Illustration by Ariel Davis
Save this story
In the 2010s, affiliate marketing became a dominant strain of online business models. The Wirecutte... See more
Kyle Chayka • Unnamed Document
Barbs Honeycutt and added
Sriya Sridhar and added
This problem is almost impossible to fix in a culture that relies heavily on algorithms. The algorithm is, by definition, a repeating pattern that always looks backward. It does something in the future based on what worked in the past.
So the algorithm that recommends music or videos on a web platform will never deliver a totally fresh and new expe... See more
So the algorithm that recommends music or videos on a web platform will never deliver a totally fresh and new expe... See more
Ted Gioia • How to Know if You're Living in a Doom Loop
Matthew Jay added
This is another articulation of the problem I’ve found with music streaming following the demise of Rdio. Am I just being fed back more of the same, and how can I continue to find new things? I’m not sure an algorithm is the answer.
Mo Shafieeha and added
The vast interconnection enabled by digital platforms has ended up creating more of a sense of sameness than diversity. Users are subtly guided toward the same subsets of topics, urged on by recommendations that are designed not to serve their interests but to create profitable attention fodder to sell to advertisers. Instagram doesn’t care that yo... See more
Welcome to Filterworld|Dirt
aron and added
... See moreThe hollowed-out meaning of taste in the Filterworld era has something in common with the way engagement is measured by digital platforms: it's a snap judgment predicated mostly on whether something provokes immediate like or dislike. Taste's moral capac-ity, the idea that it generally leads an individual toward a better society as well as better c
Why are we seeing a global homogenizing of culture across every dimension that counts? Why has Hollywood become so creatively bankrupt that nobody bothers watching that oh-so-predictable-52nd sequel to a superhero movie? Why have pop songs become so objectively similar? Why is everyone following the same formula for their posts on Instagram and hum... See more
invencion.com • Culture & the Algorithm.
Thomas added