Are Algorithmic Feeds Becoming the Norm on Social Media?

The question is: Do algorithmic feeds create a better user experience or do they enable social platforms to better serve advertisers?

Once a social platform reaches a certain size, it seems the trend is to start using an algorithm to sort the content that users see. Facebook was first and has long been known for its algorithmic News Feed; now Twitter and Instagram are exploring a similar strategy.

The question is: Do algorithmic feeds create a better user experience or do they enable social platforms to better serve advertisers?

When Instagram announced that it would be using an algorithm to order content, the decision was justified in part by the claim that users are missing out on 70 percent of the content they’re subscribed to; an algorithm could potentially show users more of what they follow.

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