Echo Chambers, System Overloads, And Filter Failures

The social media algorithms don’t love you. They don’t even care about you. The might not even like you.

All the social media algorithms like is your attention.

That’s why the algorithms are designed to create echo chambers.

If you like what you’re hearing, you’re more likely to sit.

if you don’t like what you’re hearing, you’re more likely to walk.

So they echo back what you seem to like, and edit out what you don’t.

And if they’re biased too, and they all are, they’ll allow that added logic to play into your algorithmically designed echo chamber as well.

If you’re going to live on social media, or even just play their occasionally, them’s the rules.

BUT, you also have a superpower.

Above the algorithms (and do note the plurality here) is YOUR filter.

Your defense about what sticks to your attention, where else you go with your attention, and what you retain.

If you just let the algorithms blow you up like an echo-filled balloon, you will eventually pop.

But, if you rise above the platforms, if you step outside of them, or across them, or intelligently design systems for what you do and do not let in, as imperfect as it may be, you can keep yourself from exploding/imploding.

As JP Rangaswami says (and Howard Lindzon repeats, and Clay Shirky allegedly said first):

There is no such thing as information overload…only filter failure.

The world is increasingly run by algorithms.

They will overload you with information.

All you can do is monitor your filters and stay vigilant.