[HN Gopher] TikTok's Secret Sauce
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       TikTok's Secret Sauce
        
       Author : sebg
       Score  : 8 points
       Date   : 2022-12-15 21:01 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (knightcolumbia.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (knightcolumbia.org)
        
       | WallyFunk wrote:
       | > Some users think of the algorithm as a divine force that guides
       | them
       | 
       | Very easy to enter an echo chamber and go down rabbit-holes you
       | shouldn't really be going down. If it picks up you like videos
       | about depression or eating disorders, prepare to get brainwashed
       | and not even be able to process those videos properly.
       | 
       | > A central challenge for any recommendation algorithm is the
       | tradeoff between safe but somewhat boring recommendations that
       | are similar to recommendations that worked well in the past
       | 
       | And this just makes the platform gameable. So many videos with
       | their intro as 'Wait to the end' or building up tension just to
       | get engagement or snarky replies, giving the illusion the video
       | is popular but it's wildly unlikeable.
        
       | badrabbit wrote:
       | TikTok reminds me of that woody allen movie (not a fan after
       | hearing about him for the record) where they try to rob a bank by
       | renting a store next door and tunneling to the vault. Except as a
       | cover, they open up a bakery and eventually people liked their
       | baking so much they became millionaires and didn't need to rob
       | the bank anymore. A cop even catches them when they tunnel to the
       | wrong place but he let them go for equity in the baking business.
       | 
       | Tiktok just wanted your data for the CCP but they found out the
       | true treasure is the friends and insane market domination they
       | made along the way.
        
         | aeternum wrote:
         | Is this just conjecture? It just doesn't make logical sense:
         | how could it have worked as a data collection app for the CCP
         | if people didn't like it and not many installed it?
        
       | amadeuspagel wrote:
       | What makes tiktok different is not the algorithm, but the data
       | that the algorithm has to work with. Do you like a tweet? Hard to
       | judge from your behaviour, unless you explicitly hit like. With
       | video, it's easy: Do you keep watching? Youtube's algorithm works
       | great for the same reason. (The article does point out one
       | important difference between youtube and tiktok: On youtube, you
       | have to click on a video first. Meaning, the algorithm has to
       | suggest not just videos you would enjoy, but also videos that you
       | would decide to click on.)
        
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       (page generated 2022-12-15 23:02 UTC)