Read on Twitter
Stories are coming to Twitter. Disappointing.
1. This is a highly toxic mechanic.
2. It's sold to us with wrong assumptions (probably known to them, but this makes the new feature easier to swallow). https://twitter.com/kayvz/status/1328685331789484034
1. This is a highly toxic mechanic.
2. It's sold to us with wrong assumptions (probably known to them, but this makes the new feature easier to swallow). https://twitter.com/kayvz/status/1328685331789484034
1. Temporary content is an incentive to connect all the time, playing on our fear of missing out. Same addictive trick seen in shitty free-to-play games with temp loot every 2 hours.
This is irresponsible & prevents us from filtering the ambiant noise to get better signal.
This is irresponsible & prevents us from filtering the ambiant noise to get better signal.
2. Stories are supposed to be less risky/intimidating for new users. This illusion of safety will lead some to make very costly mistakes.
Most attacks on Twitter are using screenshots, not retweets, to prevent victims from escaping by deleting tweets or locking their account.
Most attacks on Twitter are using screenshots, not retweets, to prevent victims from escaping by deleting tweets or locking their account.
3. Stories aren't designed for us, it's for them.
They are extremely monetizable, something Twitter has really struggled with compared to other networks.
As we swipe from a story to another, we get targeted ads, which aren't ignorable like sponsored tweets while scrolling.
They are extremely monetizable, something Twitter has really struggled with compared to other networks.
As we swipe from a story to another, we get targeted ads, which aren't ignorable like sponsored tweets while scrolling.
4. Stories are sorted under opaque algorithms rather than chronologically. Contrary to tweets which are "rated" by likes & retweets, which in theory should help the most valuable tweets to surface, stories are rated by hidden metrics like watched time before swiping.
5. "Watched time" is a terrible metric: watching is NOT a rational, conscious decision like retweeting or liking.
"Watched time" rewards eye-catching content, like dancing teens on Tik Tok or half-covered boobs on IG. It incentivizes content satisfying our animalistic impulses.
"Watched time" rewards eye-catching content, like dancing teens on Tik Tok or half-covered boobs on IG. It incentivizes content satisfying our animalistic impulses.
One of my greatest existential fear is that one day, humans will end up like pets.
Totally conditioned by pavlovian responses, endlessly consuming comforting bullshit, regressing to purely impulsive animals instead of the rationalizing beings we should aspire to be.
Totally conditioned by pavlovian responses, endlessly consuming comforting bullshit, regressing to purely impulsive animals instead of the rationalizing beings we should aspire to be.
