{"id":9211,"date":"2016-08-30T16:46:43","date_gmt":"2016-08-30T04:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.frot.co.nz\/design\/?p=9211"},"modified":"2022-03-15T15:11:34","modified_gmt":"2022-03-15T02:11:34","slug":"instagram-have-gone-a-step-too-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.frot.co.nz\/design\/computing\/instagram-have-gone-a-step-too-far\/","title":{"rendered":"INSTAGRAM HAVE GONE A STEP TOO FAR"},"content":{"rendered":"

Facebook own Instagram<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Facebook have bought over 50 companies, including Instagram which they bought in April 2012 for $1 billion.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Instagram owns the rights to every photo on the site
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Instagram owns every photo<\/span><\/strong> you post on the site. Effective January 13, 2013\u00a0 – \u201cUnder the\u00a0new policy, Facebook claims the perpetual right to license all public Instagram photos to companies or any other organization, including for advertising purposes.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Instagram determines what you see<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Instagram have ditched the chronological feed and replaced it with an algorithm that determines what you see.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Image<\/strong><\/p>\n

OK that’s it for me, so long and thanks for all the pics – Instagram can jam this bollocks up their arse.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0This is my last post to Instagram<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"instagram.algorthm\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Instagram\u2019s algorithmic feed is the worst thing to happen to me all summer<\/h1>\n

Nobody loves change, especially when it hits our most beloved digital services like Gmail, Facebook, Spotify, or Instagram.<\/p>\n

The majority of the time we get over these changes and suddenly forget what these services were like before. It\u2019s like seeing a friend\u2019s new haircut \u2014 shocking at first, but eventually that haircut is the only one you\u2019ve ever known. Remember Facebook before the Newsfeed? Instagram before the videos? I doubt it.<\/p>\n

I preamble down this road so that you understand the severity of my opinion when I say: I fucking hate Instagram\u2019s new, algorithmic feed.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been six weeks since it rolled out to everyone. I\u2019ve given it time. I\u2019ve tried. And after much thought and deliberation, I\u2019ve decided that I hate it.<\/p>\n

Algorithm vs. Father Time<\/h2>\n

So we\u2019re all on the same page, let me tell you exactly what happened. Since the dawn of time (when Instagram launched), Instagram has put its content in chronological format. That means that when you open the app, you see what was posted most recently and, as you scroll, you see older and older posts.<\/p>\n

Then, in March, Instagram started rolling out an algorithmic timeline. By June, this \u2018feature\u2019 had reached all users.<\/p>\n

The algorithmic feed tries to calculate what you will like best and put it at the top of your feed.<\/p>\n

Congratulations, Instagram\/Facebook, on wasting countless man hours and computational power on something almost no one wants.<\/p>\n

Backlash<\/h2>\n

In that span of time, users all over the place cried foul. Celebrities and other folks who partially rely on their Instagram traffic pleaded with users to turn on individual push notifications<\/a> for their posts. Of course, this outrage died down just in time for the global release.<\/p>\n

In June, Instagram fully rolled out<\/a> \u201ca new way of ordering posts in feed so you\u2019ll see the moments you care about first.\u201d LOL.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this new ordering you won\u2019t miss your favorite band\u2019s video after the concert, even if it took place across the world in a different time zone. And no matter how many accounts you follow, you should see your best friend\u2019s latest posts.\u201d El. Oh. El.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been six weeks since this release, and after living through it, I\u2019ve discovered that the whole idea is just as ridiculous as it was in March, when the algorithmic feed was announced.<\/p>\n

I took a poll yesterday on Twitter and out of 1,671 responses 88 percent of people said they prefer the old Instagram to the new.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Why?<\/h2>\n

So why does Instagram continue down this algorithmic path when it\u2019s users clearly don\u2019t like it?<\/p>\n

The first reason is Facebook, the company that owns Instagram, operates its highly successful Newsfeed through an algorithm. Based on all the math currently available, it\u2019s not ridiculous to presume that Instagram would see greater success through an algorithm the same way that the Newsfeed did.<\/p>\n

Which brings us to engagement.<\/p>\n

Some Instagram users remember the last post they saw when they closed the app, and they scroll all the way to that post when they open up the app again. When the feed is chronological, this is pretty easy, and it ensures that the user has seen everything from each of the people they follow.<\/p>\n

If you opened up Instagram six hours ago, you have six hours worth of pictures to look at.<\/p>\n

If Instagram mixes everything up, with posts from 11 hours ago on the top of the feed and posts from a few minutes ago way down the line, then the user must continue scrolling (endlessly, even) to get through every post.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn average, people miss 70 percent of their feeds,\u201d Instagram explained. \u201cIt\u2019s become harder to keep up with all the photos and videos people share as Instagram has grown.\u201d<\/p>\n

In theory, this FOMO-driven approach means higher engagement and more advertisement views out of users.<\/p>\n

Unless, of course, you\u2019re a brand (but not an Instagram advertiser) that is pushing out time-sensitive posts to your followers.<\/p>\n

In short, this ploy for engagement only benefits Instagram and the brands that choose to advertise on Instagram. And no one else.<\/p>\n

Theory vs. Reality<\/h2>\n

Not everyone can, or will, be sucked into the endless scroll. Especially when the algorithm is serving up stuff you don\u2019t care about.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Of course, boring posts may spark curiosity about what other pictures and videos might be lurking past the next scroll, and it may catalyze a few more swipes. But when I\u2019m looking at shit I don\u2019t care about, I\u2019m pretty much done with that session of Instagram.<\/p>\n

At least when I was looking at dumb pictures before, it was my own fault. I followed boring users, they posted, and then their content lived in my feed. There was no one to blame but myself.<\/p>\n

Now, when my Instagram feed is boring or too full of a certain group of friends and missing another, I blame Instagram. The brand itself feels more like an extension of Facebook than a cool place to check up on my friends\u2019 perceptions of themselves.<\/p>\n

In short, I\u2019m starting to get angry.<\/p>\n

You Don\u2019t Know Me, Instagram<\/h2>\n

And part of that anger comes from how Instagram seems to feel about me. All the presumption.<\/p>\n

There are a wide variety of reasons to open up Instagram, ranging from very specific stalking of another person to general boredom and an impulse to browse the excitement of the lives of others.<\/p>\n

In the same way, there are a wide variety of reasons to like something, or conversely, resist liking something.<\/p>\n

Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n

I follow one of my teachers from high school. We stay in touch every few months. She\u2019s in my phonebook and she\u2019s one of my Facebook friends. Her feed is mostly her children, and while I\u2019ve never met them and she is most certainly not one of my best friends, I like most of her pictures. It\u2019s one of the few ways I can stay regularly connected to her.<\/p>\n