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Comment by stdbrouw | Hacker News Reader

Don't confuse yourself with the average user. Facebook and Twitter go where their tests and metrics tell them to go. If an algorithm that highlights important content and hides stuff you probably don't care about makes the average user come back to the platform more often, Facebook would be a fool not to grab that opportunity.

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Zynga has been driven by metrics too, their strategy being to exploit human psychology in order to get people addicted and to pay money for in-game purchases. There's a whole science behind it. Basically those games feed the people's compulsion for completing tasks in return for some reward, with an ever present illusion that the game might get fun after you gain some experience or virtual coin. And the interesting part is that fun is antithetical to the company's purpose, because if the game is too much fun, then people aren't inclined to pay. And in 2010 Zynga was on a roll, predicting doom for the gaming industry as we knew it, yet look at where they are now.

In other words, that mythical algorithm for Facebook's feed that you're describing is probably not about making people happy or serving their interests. I used to like Facebook, but my stream is getting worse and worse as I see more and more pictures of babies of strangers in my news feed, related to what my "friends" "liked", not to mention being exposed to opinions so stupid that I lose faith in mankind. There's no way of stopping this stream of things from strangers that I don't want. And their analysis of my preferences seems to be completely useless, as I keep getting news items on subjects I'm actively deleting from my stream, but who knows, maybe this algorithm is trying hard to elicit an emotional response from me.

By Facebook's metrics I'm more active than ever. Heck, if HN had metrics it would count me as a satisfied member judging by the intense activity I'm having. Count the words in this comment, this is what true engagement looks like. Yet I'm more dissatisfied than ever. And in particular for Facebook, just as with its symbiotic partner Zynga, I'm predicting a future in which people will realize that Facebook is not making them happy. I know I have, my account being currently deactivated, in what I call a trial separation, pending deletion.

Also, in case you're going to say that I'm not the target demographic, well that's what people said about Google+, the nymwars and forcing YouTube users to join, with Google+ being exactly what you get when you bring in Facebook's crap without having a network effect.

With all the advertising and marketing and addictive-behavior stuff these days, I've been struggling to think of some way to make "psychological self-defense" profitable and honestly-effective, but so far it seems all the money is in exploiting people.

Imagine a little chip you could tuck into a hat-band that would detect the "I can't pass up a bargain this good" mental pattern. Then your phone dings and reminds you what other things you had already planned as priorities.

At that point I'd probably suddenly suffer from a few dozen "self inflicted" stab wounds from sharpened credit-cards in a dark alley.

Thank you! You're not alone either. I'm pretty sure Twitter is going to discover that their data driven approach is only as good as the data, which based on their most recent product trends, has not been very good. It seems that many companies really struggle with understanding UX.

Metrics can be very short-termist though.

My facebook seems to be filled with auto-play videos these days. It's not really about my friends any more.

And why should it be?

Because that, long-term, is the only thing that drives people to Facebook?

"Come join Facebook and get some auto-playing video ads in your face, but no actual content from your friends will be shown!" is not a compelling value proposition for the prospective new user. (Applies to Twitter too.)

It's got great metrics though! So pointy-haired bosses love it.

It's like a restaurant beating and mugging all their customers before allowing them to leave the premises. Average check size goes from $32 to $250 instantly. Awesome metrics! And absolutely no comeuppance could possibly occur.

Yes and no -- if you're bad at A/B testing and analytics, then maybe. However, given that FB is growing to 1.5B people, I'd say that they're doing something right in terms of balancing short-term moves with long-term gains.

Their metrics may not account for knowledge of the 'feature'.

Yes, users will use a positive service more often. But if that service is positve at the expense of hiding things, then some will not be happy.

I think that's what you need to keep in mind. The "some" that are unhappy are such a small fraction of the Facebook/Twitter userbase that it's a clear net win to make these changes. I can guarantee the changes were A/B tested, the metrics gathered, and a decision made. Of course there will be a slice of the userbase who doesn't like the change, but that's obviously already accounted for in their planning and forecasting.

A/B testing has two big and obvious problems. One is that A/B testing can only lead to a local maxima in the best case scenario. The other is that A/B testing, being about statistical hypothesis testing, is prone to interpretation problems, which is why the changes you introduce in the variation have to be small, otherwise you don't know what you're measuring.

In other words, yes it can help you optimize the color or size of a Buy Now button. But it can't help you build a product.

> One is that A/B testing can only lead to a local maxima in the best case scenario.

What you mean is: it can only lead to a local maximum in the worst case scenario. Even blind guesses can occasionally lead to a global maximum, and A/B testing is better than a blind guess.

Again, another insightful and accurate assessment!

Just give us a toggle.

A permanent one, not like FB's deal you have to click each time.

The FB toggle basically does nothing.

I think many teams end up chasing the wrong metrics - data driven at the expense of UX. I'm ready to pack up and call it quits on Twitter.

twitter is marketing to the same group of people that want to vote for Donald Trump.

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