The algorithm giveth and the algorithm taketh away.
When Facebook first introduced the News Feed in 2006, posts appeared in chronological order. In 2009, they introduced their first algorithm to sort based on popularity.
LinkedIn introduced an algorithmic feed in 2012, Twitter in 2014, and Instagram in 2016. All the algorithms continue to change and evolve, impacting what gets seen.
This drives incentives to try to crack the code and figure out the “one weird trick” that will drive engagement and make things go viral.
A few of these “best practices” are helpful, but many are shallow, some are total superstitions, and most of them put the cart before the horse. And of course, what may have worked yesterday changes tomorrow.
It’s an algorithmic arms race, between posters trying to game the system and algorithms changing the game altogether.
I’ve been drawing and sharing this cartoon nearly weekly for 23 years now. I’ve learned that continuity is more valuable than going viral. There’s no “one weird trick.” And social media metrics are mostly empty calories.
But the most important thing I’ve learned is that trying to create for an algorithm ultimately takes away from creating for actual people.
Here are a few related cartoons I’ve drawn over the years:
