Indeed. Which standard do you, gentle Slashdot read, want: * Videos that people want to put up, and that people want to see; or * A curated selection of videos that are best for you, as judged by your betters
We know that oppressive governments the world round demand the second option. Which should you demand?
"To know who rules you, ask: who am I not allowed to criticize in public? Those are your rulers."
by Anonymous Coward writes:
on Tuesday April 02, 2019 @01:12PM (#58372534)
Google doesn't just host the videos. It recommends videos too. The choice of videos they recommend is based on metrics like "engagement". Google isn't alone in this. Social networks like Facebook also favor content that makes people interact. Do you know the saying "there's no such thing as bad publicity"? Look at the current crop of celebrities who make money from controversy. Polarizing content is more valuable than rational discourse, and that drives the decision for the video recommendations. You're trying to frame this as a dichotomy between "let the users decide" and "totalitarianism", but the users aren't deciding and the alternative isn't that recommendations are curated to express the "right" opinion. Youtube knows what riles people up, and you know that they know: They're recommending that trash. They could easily use the same metric they use now and instead of recommending those videos, they could make sure to never recommend them. They would have to choose other metrics that aren't as profitable to them, though, so you know it's not going to happen unless they're forced to act against their interests.
Good (Score:1, Insightful)
I see no problem here (except with some employees who are complaining, who should probably be fired).
Re: (Score:5, Insightful)
Indeed. Which standard do you, gentle Slashdot read, want:
* Videos that people want to put up, and that people want to see; or
* A curated selection of videos that are best for you, as judged by your betters
We know that oppressive governments the world round demand the second option. Which should you demand?
"To know who rules you, ask: who am I not allowed to criticize in public? Those are your rulers."
Re:Good (Score:0)
Google doesn't just host the videos. It recommends videos too. The choice of videos they recommend is based on metrics like "engagement". Google isn't alone in this. Social networks like Facebook also favor content that makes people interact. Do you know the saying "there's no such thing as bad publicity"? Look at the current crop of celebrities who make money from controversy. Polarizing content is more valuable than rational discourse, and that drives the decision for the video recommendations. You're trying to frame this as a dichotomy between "let the users decide" and "totalitarianism", but the users aren't deciding and the alternative isn't that recommendations are curated to express the "right" opinion. Youtube knows what riles people up, and you know that they know: They're recommending that trash. They could easily use the same metric they use now and instead of recommending those videos, they could make sure to never recommend them. They would have to choose other metrics that aren't as profitable to them, though, so you know it's not going to happen unless they're forced to act against their interests.