ALL CONSUMING ALGORITHMS

Algorithms, although you may not necessarily be acutely aware of them – they play a big role in all your online activities including your Google searches and your Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X and Facebook feeds. What is an algorithm and how does it work? Algorithms are essentially “a set of finite rules or instructions to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations”. From a social media standpoint, the algorithms deployed by Instagram help determine the kind of content that we are exposed to when on the platform. They do this by determining how content is ranked, filtered and recommended to users. Instagram is not the only platform that makes use of these mechanisms to control content. TikTok is another social media platform that uses algorithms to target specific audiences with specific content. This also factors in historical searches and content engagement. This is important because this is also how platforms help monetize themselves through brand-based advertising.

In order to do this, social media sites collect signals. Signals are used as indicators to showcase previous interest as a basis for future content engagement. Signals include: watch time, location, profile authority, recency, timing and frequency. With the increasing prominence of AI, comes the rise in the deployment of AI as part of the algorithm analysis process. Twitter’s algorithm takes into account the following signals: similar profiles, user interactions, engagement levels, relevance, location and language. Facebook on the other hand makes use of several different algorithms to determine what you see – although most people would agree that these days Facebook is more advertisements in comparison to anything else. Facebook prioritises timing first and foremost in its algorithms. It also factors in your connections and the types of content that your Facebook friends or followers engage with too. Instagram also makes use of several signals to curate the content that you see accordingly. These include recency – so how recently you interacted with similar content. The people you follow, content type and interaction history. Instagram stories are slightly different, these are based on viewing history, engagement history and the closeness to the story’s creator.

One of the biggest updates to Google’s algorithm in 2024 is aimed at ensuring that users are exposed to what it deems ‘high-quality’ content. This aims to ensure that if the content itself is AI generated, that it matches the same level of ‘quality’ that an authentic author would create. In addition to that, Google has also included AI overviews too which aims to take it from a search engine to a search AND answer engine too. Either way, in the coming months, AI Algorithm advancement are going to have major impacts on the way in which we search, and the results that we are exposed to. There will be some major winners from a business perspective and some major losers too. According to Google: “Our recent updates aim to connect people with content that is helpful, satisfying and original, from a diverse range of sites across the web. As we work to improve Search, we’re continuing to focus on sending valuable traffic to sites and supporting a healthy, open web.”