> I then deleted my post, and re-posted a text-only status with the same message and asking people to Google for the donation link. Within 1 hour, 25+ sad reactions and friends donating. Victims got helped, because I removed the link.
That's funny, in my LinkedIn circle people have been doing this for more than a year, even marketing people recommend putting the link in a reply... apparently Facebook caught up with that.
Nowadays it seems common to make a post without a link but with "link in a comment" note, post link as a comment under that post and like it (to increase change of it being on top). At least many fanpages I keep track of do that.
But I guess it's a matter of time before FB starts fighting that too.
That's sad. It's independent creators, charities, and people whose blogs need to be heard that are getting hurt here.
This is also why I quit Instagram, as I discussed further in another recent post. After implementing their "algorithm" the app was completely ruined. It clearly just caters the same repetitive mindless content to the lowest common demoninator
As a Facebook user I actually like this change. I'd rather see original pictures taken by my friends instead of links to external sites.
As a Facebook user if a friend encounters racism I'd like to see the link to blog post about it as well. If a friend is performing in a concert I'd like to see the link to the concert program. If a friend writes a news article or is in the news I'd like to see it as well. If a friend launches a startup I'd like to know. I often don't see these things because they're links.
I'm referring mostly to friends' content only. Decreased external links from non-friends is fine, but I'd like to see everything from friends and what they're upto, and in whatever form they want to share it in. That's why they are friends.
Re:YouTube faces creator backlash
by giancarlostoro on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @03:46AM
(#20562865)
Sounds to me like filtering for the dashboard would make more sense? Give users the ability to filter through content types instead of trying to cram through 5 thousand friends streams of content.
I'm cool with friends seeing my stuff and not interacting or not liking it because it's not likeable. That's democratic. But I'm NOT cool with Facebook not even showing my content to my own friends.
The external link hating algorithm also extends to important news and events. Recently there was an arson attack in Japan on Kyoto Animation where the arsonist doused gasoline throughout the building and lit it on fire. 33+ people died, 37+ injured. I posted a link for my friends to donate to the official charity event on GoFundMe to help the survivors and victims. After 1 hour, ZERO interactions, ZERO comments, ZERO angry reactions.
I then deleted my post, and re-posted a text-only status with the same message and asking people to Google for the donation link. Within 1 hour, 25+ sad reactions and friends donating. Victims got helped, because I removed the link.
I see the same of friends' accounts as well. Links to blog posts about sexual assault encounters and racism get a fraction of the exposure they used to unless they are already viral, so they often never get seen. While on the other hand someone who posts a photo to Facebook directly about their amazing boba while #livingTheCaliforniaLife gets 100 likes.
Zuckerberg talked about changing the algorithm to "bring people closer together" and promote "meaningful interactions", but the algorithm really just promotes content uploaded to Facebook and down-ranks external content. It's not bringing people together at all.
And it's hurting independent creators even more, who increasingly depend on social media to spread their word.