I. Welcome back & follow up
Good Morning and thank you again for inviting me into your inbox. I write about insights and provocations on the evolving nature of digital design. You can always subscribe here.
Follow up:
🔎 Related to Content Moderation
Interesting point of view from Chinese netizens. Perhaps when you’re so steeped in censorship you see anytime it happens as a negative.
"Nearly two-thirds of the roughly 2,700 participants in one Chinese online poll voted that Twitter shouldn’t have shut down Mr. Trump’s account."
🔎 Related to Designing Studio Growth
I got a question on how we set growth targets for revenue, which then informs headcount growth. In short, we use our monthly revenue from the previous year, set a growth target, such as 20%, and then calculate that over the year to understand what our new monthly targets would be. We then look at how many individuals we would need to hire to achieve that revenue growth.
🔎 Related to Designing Studio Growth
For more thorough reading on growth in Technology, I would recommend the following books
🔎 Related to Content Moderation
I was asked “What is fair?” when it comes to moderation. Fair can be complicated as it’s subjective to a granular level of belief. Instead let’s look at first principles, and what “being fair” represents - treating people equal without favouritism. Therefore if we want to treat people equal, lets understand the foundational principles and guidelines that are established within a community. This would then guide what is fair within that community.
🔎 Related to Content Moderation
In a need to stop splintering realities, NY Times presents the need for a Reality Czar. Although for people who believe conspiracy theories, any attempt to bring them back is seen as further proof why they are correct. The Korean series Save Me (구해줘) does better job than I ever could explaining this.
II. What comes after Facebook? The next steps in “social” media and personal entertainment
📱 With our focus squarely on Facebook and Twitter as the heart of social media usage (and woes) we are neglecting the growing wave of what comes after.
Tiktok and Clubhouse aren’t specifically social media networks, but steps towards designing a non-stop feed of targeted personal entertainment meant to be so compelling, you’ll never want to leave it. They are the momentary culmination of what TV and Radio started decades ago. TV channels and radio stations produced content based on the best engagement for the majority of individuals within their user base or area of reach. Over time they added bundled channels or stations to customise offerings further. They designed systems based on engagement, and thus business. Now we are crossing a threshold of personalised content per the individual.
If you’re not familiar, Tiktok is short form user generated video content. While you can follow individuals, the FYP, or “For You Page” is algorithmically generated based on your interests, who you follow, and previous videos you’ve watched. It’s ability to know what you will engage with is so accurate it’s scary.
Clubhouse, on the other hand, is all drop-in audio content. Meaning it’s all live and you can join in the middle of sessions, called rooms. Slightly different from Tiktok, rooms are presented to you on a more narrow view based on who you follow, your interests, and followers activity. But similar to Tiktok, you are always presented a series of rooms that you can engage with.
So how is this the future? Aren’t Facebook or Twitter doing the same thing - customising content for the individual. There are two main differences
Information and content directly presented to you is not limited to who you follow.
Relevant information and content now finds you.
Rui Ma, in an interview with Lillian Li, from Chinese Characteristics, summed it up well, presenting the following view on information and content in the future.
Bytedance’s genesis is based on the idea that the next evolution for search is not going to be based on intentions. Search leads me to the information I want, but when there’s so much information. Is there a way to reach information of value? Making the information find you is the aim of the company currently.
This new breed of application isn’t simply a social network, its stronger tribes based on interest, followers, and content that seeks out its viewers. For all its faults, Quibi had the short form content, but lacked the right delivery model - on multiple levels.
Imagine I sit down to the TV (or in 2020+, a phone or tablet) and each channel is customised for me. I drop into radio stations, but out of millions of programs, my feed is customised just to my interests. I never have to think, I never have the search - content simply finds me.
🔮 What’s next? Where there is an abundance of supply and a paradox of choice, delivery because critical in meeting demand. Demand is no longer for the product, but rather for culling and presenting relevant information. This is what Tiktok does, and what Clubhouse starts to do, although to a lesser extent.
💀 To wrap up, while personal content does sound appealing, as it’s supposed to, threat modeling these situations for societal harm is just as important as the potential upside. I outlined three scenarios below for reader to think about, and there are many more.
If everything is personalised and presented based on engagement, we could be seeing an event horizon in the development of filter bubbles. A continued and heightened sense of polarisation as content could come from all sources, not simply friends - as it does with Facebook or Telegram groups.
Governments, or private companies could exploit what is shown to present propaganda to individuals. Especially individuals younger than 18 years old. That could be anything from nationalistic pride as a Government, to promoting sentiment against Government policy as a private company.
A continued “Cult of I” where everyone strives to be their own super star could contribute to a continued sense of validation from external sources and lack of cohesive communities. When everything is looking inward to oneself, empathy becomes very difficult.
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