Re:TikTok reveals details of how its algorithm works
by thekyle on Thursday September 10, 2020 @06:57PM
(#24437443)
I also agree that YouTube's recommendations are pretty good. For example, I like to watch Linux distro reviews which are fairly niche and usually only get a few hundred views but my YouTube homepage is filled with them. In contrast, when I was testing out TikTok it mostly recommended me things with broad appeal like comedy skits and generic science videos that I think 90%+ of the population would find at least somewhat enjoyable.
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Re:TikTok reveals details of how its algorithm works
by taejo on Friday September 11, 2020 @09:18AM
(#24442439)
> I also agree that YouTube's recommendations are pretty good. For example, I like to watch Linux distro reviews which are fairly niche and usually only get a few hundred views but my YouTube homepage is filled with them
This is exactly its main weakness. Once it finds one or two things you like, you're hardly ever going to see anything diversity, and if you ever do, it won't be long before that thing completely fills your feed.
I have two Google accounts, and I switch between them for non-YouTube-related reasons. The one is currently all Periodic Videos all the time, the other is all History Matters all the time. It's not as if I lose all interest in chemistry if I switch accounts. If I have a few minutes to kill, I'll end up thinking "History Matters isn't exactly what I want to watch, but I don't want to spend ten minutes trying to find something else", so I watch it, and the algorithm pats itself on the back and cues up another one of the same.