Filter Bubble

HONG KONG — When ByteDance rebranded the US teen karaoke app Musical.ly it acquired as TikTok in 2018, it was just another short video app for American teens. Today it is the most downloaded app in the world, proving so popular that it has become a flashpoint in the escalating US-China…

This sort of research can, piece by piece, help reshape the online landscape so it isn’t quite so tribal and awash in misinformation and vitriol.Photograph by Prostock-studio / ShutterstockGiant tech companies and governments largely determine what content is and isn’t allowed online, and their decisions impact billions of people: 55…

TheirTube is a YouTube filter bubble simulator that provides a look into how videos are recommended on other people's YouTube home page. Each persona simulates a real YouTube user by recreating their viewing history and then displays their recommendation bubble. From their site: Each of these TheirTube personas is informed…

A heavy reliance on digital technology and systems that we don’t fully understand has eroded our digital trust. We are both concerned and confused by issues of data privacy, fake news, automated decision making and artificial intelligence. How did we get here and how can we rebuild trust?by Joshua Leigh,…

Home » Content moderation, tiktok TikTok’s recommended feed page, called “For You” is one of the defining features of the platform, and with around 2 billion app users, significant real estate for advertisers. The company in a blog post last week, for the first time, revealed how its recommendation system…

If you’ve scrolled through TikTok, you’ve likely seen the hashtag #fyp, followed by #foryoupage. They mean the same thing: For You page, TikTok’s portal into content it thinks you might like.  Because it shows you content from anyone, and not just people you follow, the FYP has become a coveted…

The company detailed factors that power its recommendation engineFollower count is not a factor in TikTok’s recommendation systemTikTok TikTok provided some insights into how it recommends videos for users’ For You feeds.The video creation and sharing platform said in a blog post that the For You feed is unique for each…

Like many social media platforms and apps, TikTok feeds are built using a recommendation algorithm that uses a number of tools and factors to personalize it for each person. Now, TikTok has published a new blog post explaining how its recommendation feed works, and it includes tips for personalizing the…

Source: Vikram Mansaharamani, used with permission Question everything. That is the common advice given at commencement speeches to young graduates about to embark into the ‘real world’. Fresh and full of vigor, they are encouraged to reach new heights and make the world a better place. They have been taught…

The promise of the internet was a promise of connection. Networked technologies would erase the physical and cultural space that separated us. Digital communications would unite us like never before. Online platforms would “bring the world closer together” (Zuckerberg 2017). Communication technologies would collapse boundaries, encourage dialogue, and facilitate mutual…