Week 5 Reading Response

If you spend a lot of time on twitter, you would recently have been made aware of news that twitter is moving to introduce an algorithm that would change up the way tweets are presented in each user's timeline. News of this caused quite a stir among active users of the platform and led to the trending topic "RIP Twitter."

It's pretty easy to dismiss outrage on social media these days as the usual hyperbole and overreaction that feeds the internet but this week's reading might actually give voice to people already eulogizing twitter. With a lot of these new changes to the platform, there's also been a trend of twitter seeming to place less value in its long time users in order to gain new ones but that's probably another story for another day.

THE EVOLVING ROLE OF NEWS ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK

The first reading references a year-old article on a twitter feature that was at the time being tested and was titled "Project Lightning." That project ended up being Twitter Moments. I delved into that article a bit and found out a couple of things about "Project Lightning" - now Twitter Moments that may be relevant:

• It may be the first feature to be readily available to people without requiring a log in or an account
• Katie Jacob Stanton, who is mentioned in the article as having spearheaded the project, is one of about four execs to have left twitter all at once very recently amidst Twitter's ongoing identity crisis.
• Editors under Stanton get to decide what are “best and most relevant tweets” around an event. Basically, what is newsworthy.
• No algorithm here, curated by humans

IF YOU USE FACEBOOK TO GET YOUR NEWS

This article highlights for me one of the main reason I opted to shutter my facebook account in the first place. It is also very timely considering again the buzz around news that twitter hq might be considering using algorithms as well on its users' timelines.

I'm sure filter bubbles already exist on twitter even before the introduction of an algorithm but I feel like the difference between the filter bubbles on twitter and the ones on facebook is the appearance of transparency and autonomy for the users in choosing how they continue to craft their individual filter bubbles. 

On twitter, it's always been as easy as following the people and organizations with views that interest you and unfollowing the ones that don't. It's still a filter bubble but it is one that you are at least a little self-aware about. With an algorithm deciding for you what you want to see and what you don't want to see, you may never know just how deep into your bubble you've sunk.