Instagram Will Shift From Chronological to Algorithm-Based Feed

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Not trying to start an argument, but especially on Twitter chronology is the entire platform. Once they allow tweets to be longer than 140 characters and start using algorithm-based feeds, it will just be Facebook with a bird.

Most don't seem to understand what it means that they're going to do away with the 140 character limit. They will still limit you to 140 characters in a tweet but anything over that will have a link to read the rest elsewhere. It's no different than right now posting your tweet and including a link to your blog post where you can read the rest. The only difference is that it will mean people don't have to leave the site to read the rest and keeping people on the platform is how they provide the best experience. LinkedIn did the exact same with LinkedIn Publisher and Facebook has done it with their new Notes.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Facebook turned to crap when they did this and so will Instagram..

And yet Facebook has a billion users a month

 

[mattopotamus]

Great now we can see the same 4 people

 

[danwest]

I miss so much important stuff on Facebook as it is, dont follow suit, insrtagram :/ i'm happy with time order thank you
[doublepost=1458173290][/doublepost]

Saw this coming for a long time. Many scream about it but it's great. It means not missing 70% of the pictures in your feed. Now you'll see more of the stuff from the accounts you engage with most and less of the 100 pictures a day from that one guy you never engage with but still follow anyways.

This doesn't mean you can't still view things in chronological order anymore. It only means that some of the accounts you engage with most will show up at the stop. Stop crying babies.
[doublepost=1458093927][/doublepost]

Did you really believe you would sit there and go through the 1500 updates every day that the average Facebook user would see if it wasn't for the Facebook algorithm showing you more of the stuff you engage with most? Not a chance. You would have stopped using Facebook long ago when it turned into nothing but updates all day long from those same 5 people that update their status every 20 minutes.

the thing is, facebook doesn't show me the stuff i want to see!

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

the thing is, facebook doesn't show me the stuff i want to see!

Then teach it. Don't click like on things you don't really like. If you don't like something and want to see less of it, click the ^ in the upper right corner of the post and select that you want to see less those posts. It learns what you do and don't like. Tell it to not show you updates from those you don't care about and set it to show all updates at the top from those people and pages you really care about so you never miss an update.

You can easily let Facebook know what you like and see just the kinda stuff you want, if you take a minute to let it learn what you like and don't.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I miss so much important stuff on Facebook as it is, dont follow suit, insrtagram :/ i'm happy with time order thank you

[doublepost=1458173290][/doublepost]
the thing is, facebook doesn't show me the stuff i want to see!

If there's a person or page that you never wanna miss... turn on notifications for it.

Think of notifications like an RSS feed for your favorite things.

That way... you can be sure to see those most-important notifications... and then browse the regular news feed for everything else.

 

[ElRojito]

Saw this coming for a long time. Many scream about it but it's great. It means not missing 70% of the pictures in your feed. Now you'll see more of the stuff from the accounts you engage with most and less of the 100 pictures a day from that one guy you never engage with but still follow anyways.

This doesn't mean you can't still view things in chronological order anymore. It only means that some of the accounts you engage with most will show up at the stop. Stop crying babies.
[doublepost=1458093927][/doublepost]

Did you really believe you would sit there and go through the 1500 updates every day that the average Facebook user would see if it wasn't for the Facebook algorithm showing you more of the stuff you engage with most? Not a chance. You would have stopped using Facebook long ago when it turned into nothing but updates all day long from those same 5 people that update their status every 20 minutes.

That is PRECISELY why I don't use Facebook. I use Instagram because I like to see what my friends and family are taking pictures of. Now it will be a jumbled mess. I know a lot of people follow random **** like Kim kardashian and Kanye west; those are the people that force the hand of Facebook to make updates like this. It just sucks for the user that isn't obsessed with celebrities.

 

[0970373]

No it won't. This update says very clearly, it will show posts from the accounts you engage with most, like your best friend or brands you love, and then the rest of the updates will still be right below it in chronological order like always. Stop crying and learn to read.

The problem with this is that many people follow accounts but don't necessarily interact with them. I follow many travel bloggers and photographers. I don't like every pic but I enjoy them in my feed. Sometimes you just want to scroll through the people you've decided to follow. If things get sorted by popularity, then I'll miss some of the lesser known but equally great 'grams from people. I know how to find my best friend's feed if I need it.

This isn't to help a user declutter, it's an excuse collect data on you or push sponsored posts same as their parent company. As long as there is an option to turn this off, it's fine. I've turned it off of FB as well.

 

[einsteinbqat]

Tell me more! I started using the web app and would love to force chorine all the time.

This URL will sort the feed to ‘Most recent’ : https://www.facebook.com/?sk=h_chr

 

[C DM]

Then teach it. Don't click like on things you don't really like. If you don't like something and want to see less of it, click the ^ in the upper right corner of the post and select that you want to see less those posts. It learns what you do and don't like. Tell it to not show you updates from those you don't care about and set it to show all updates at the top from those people and pages you really care about so you never miss an update.

You can easily let Facebook know what you like and see just the kinda stuff you want, if you take a minute to let it learn what you like and don't.

So basically waste more time doing things that you don't really want to do when you could easily just get what you need with chronological ordering. Yeah, that totally seems like something most users want and like, and it was totally done by the company in the best interest of the users.

 

[Mums]

Yup, the world of actual reality.

You only prove my point.

 

[C DM]

You only prove my point.

Circular reasoning. Got it.

 

[Mums]

Circular reasoning. Got it.

Yes I noticed.

 

[Rockadile]

That's actually part of how they measure engagement. They measure how long you pause at certain accounts, even if you don't click the 'Like' button or comment. They also measure when someone scrolls back up to an update as an engagement signal.

I don't think they're catering to the 1% here. This is to the majority. It's much like Facebook, if they didn't have their current algorithm based feed, the average user would see more than 1500 posts every day. THere's no way people are going to be patient enough to scroll through that many crap posts to find the couple they care about. That's why they do the work of surfacing the ones that are most relevant to what each user generally engages with. Engage with baby pictures from friends and Red Bull posts often? That's what you'll see more of.

This change isn't huge. It's simply putting posts from the accounts you engage with most at the top of your feed, and then everything else will still be in chronological order right below them. It's very similar to Twitter and their "While you were away..." feature, which does the same. They've shown to more than double the engagement users are having with the accounts they engage with most often thanks to this change. I don't see that being a bad thing. The data shows people are overwhelmingly happy to be shown updates from those they care about which would have been missed otherwise.
[doublepost=1458125519][/doublepost]

So because you represent a very small minority that is not typical of Instagram users they should cater things to all of those like you, rather than the vast majority. Got it.

Nothing is being hidden with this new update. The accounts you engage with most will show at the top so you don't miss them and every other account will be right below it in chronological order just as they've always been.
[doublepost=1458125917][/doublepost]

If you're having that experience you need to make some changes. First, for those friends that you never want to miss a post from you need to select "See First" from the Following menu in their profile. Then you'll see all of their posts first in your feed. You can do similar for brands by selecting "See First" from the 'Following' menu on their page. Then you'll never miss updates from the people that matter most and even those brands that rarely post.

If you select the carrot in the upper right of a baby picture update and tell Facebook you don't want to see this and why, it will stop showing you baby pictures without cutting all updates from that person.

If you're seeing less people comment and Like what you post, it's because people haven't shown much interest in what you post on Facebook. Just like with brand pages, if your content isn't interesting to them, Facebook isn't going to show it to as many people. You may think it's interesting but people are obviously not showing as much interest and so your posts are seen by less people. I know you think your friends should have to suffer and see everything you share but I'm sure there are plenty of them happy to not see the stuff you share because it simply isn't relevant or interesting to them, no matter what you think.
[doublepost=1458125985][/doublepost]

Nothing is hidden from you. Read it. They're simply putting posts from the accounts you engage with most often at the top and then right below them is every other post in chronological order just like it's always been.

I can turn on post notifications for any favorite IG profiles.
I unfollow or not follow a profile if I didn't want to see it in the first place.
So I'm not missing any posts here. No reason for algorithm feed.

 

[MacBH928]

I hope something comes along and replaces instagram...

 

[fabulous-femme]

Oh no ... I stopped activley using Facebook after my feed got useless. I just started an Instagram account but looks like I should stop this straight away. My solution ... posting things on my own website (full control and I change it as I like!) Maybe start snapchat ... haha

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

I can turn on post notifications for any favorite IG profiles.
I unfollow or not follow a profile if I didn't want to see it in the first place.
So I'm not missing any posts here. No reason for algorithm feed.

Because as Instagram has said, even with those abilities the average user still misses 70% of the photos in their feed.

Why is it such a bad thing that they want to be sure you see photos from those accounts you engage with most, like your best friend or a brand you always comment on?

The other photos aren't going away. They'll still be there in chronological order as they've always been, right after a couple photos that you don't want to miss at the top of your feed.
[doublepost=1458212366][/doublepost]

So basically waste more time doing things that you don't really want to do when you could easily just get what you need with chronological ordering. Yeah, that totally seems like something most users want and like, and it was totally done by the company in the best interest of the users.

No you couldn't. The average Facebook user would see more than 1,500 updates A DAY if they gave them to you in chronological order. Are you really going to scroll through the 200+ updates from your Trump supporter friends to find the cat videos? It's not going to happen. This is why the algorithm is needed.

Facebook has piles of data showing that the algorithm means people are more engaged with what they see on Facebook. People enjoy the service more. If they didn't, Facebook would have changed that years ago. Their #1 priority is to make sure people like the service and get what they want. If they don't, people don't return to Facebook and don't use it as much and that means less opportunity for them to show you an ad and make money.

Argue all you want that you know better, but they have billions of hours of user data that shows otherwise. You simply represent a very small minority and like most businesses, they're in the business of catering to the majority of their users, not the 0.01%
[doublepost=1458212488][/doublepost]

The problem with this is that many people follow accounts but don't necessarily interact with them. I follow many travel bloggers and photographers. I don't like every pic but I enjoy them in my feed. Sometimes you just want to scroll through the people you've decided to follow. If things get sorted by popularity, then I'll miss some of the lesser known but equally great 'grams from people. I know how to find my best friend's feed if I need it.

This isn't to help a user declutter, it's an excuse collect data on you or push sponsored posts same as their parent company. As long as there is an option to turn this off, it's fine. I've turned it off of FB as well.

You won't miss anything. This update only means you'll see a couple of the most popular updates at the top but then you'll have your chronological feed right where it's always been just below those couple top updates.

Instagram has said most users miss 70% of the photos posted in their feed. Are you OK missing 70% if they're from the accounts you engage with most? 70% of pictures your friends post or brands you've shown you really like?

You aren't going to miss anything with this new feed. You're going to see stuff you would have missed but would have enjoyed.
[doublepost=1458212588][/doublepost]

That is PRECISELY why I don't use Facebook. I use Instagram because I like to see what my friends and family are taking pictures of. Now it will be a jumbled mess. I know a lot of people follow random **** like Kim kardashian and Kanye west; those are the people that force the hand of Facebook to make updates like this. It just sucks for the user that isn't obsessed with celebrities.

What you're saying simply isn't true. You're missing 70% of the photos posted to your Instagram feed. This update will only make sure that you see photos from the accounts you engage with most often (those accounts you love but were missing some photos from) and then your normal feed will be right where below those couple pictures in chronological order.
.

 

[rockosmodurnlif]

Saw this coming for a long time. Many scream about it but it's great. It means not missing 70% of the pictures in your feed. Now you'll see more of the stuff from the accounts you engage with most and less of the 100 pictures a day from that one guy you never engage with but still follow anyways.

This doesn't mean you can't still view things in chronological order anymore. It only means that some of the accounts you engage with most will show up at the stop. Stop crying babies.
[doublepost=1458093927][/doublepost]

Did you really believe you would sit there and go through the 1500 updates every day that the average Facebook user would see if it wasn't for the Facebook algorithm showing you more of the stuff you engage with most? Not a chance. You would have stopped using Facebook long ago when it turned into nothing but updates all day long from those same 5 people that update their status every 20 minutes.

Facebook started telling me what it thought I wanted to see & I realized I don't want to see any of this & stopped using Facebook. I imagine the same thing will happen w/ Instagram.

 

[andiwm2003]

I don't use Instagram anymore, but if I was, it looks like it would be time to stop using it.

Seriously, are these companies ****ing out of their mind? NO ONE likes algorithm-based feed, except the ones that don't have enough of a brain to decide themselves what they want to see.

Ugh, you're so right. A lot of sites start having these stupid algorithms. I just confuses things. To me this is either recommended by some consulting company that everybody hires or it's to be able to easily inject sponsored content without it being to noticeable.
[doublepost=1458218944][/doublepost]

Because as Instagram has said, even with those abilities the average user still misses 70% of the photos in their feed....................................

.........................................

Wow are you by any chance working for / owning the company that makes those algorithms? I don't dispute what you say about the average user missing 70% of posts. What is not clear however is if these users care about missing these posts or not. Also it is not clear what percent of users want these algorithms or not.

I get probably 5 updates on my Facebook account per day. I checked my Facebook account every week or so. I spent about 10 min per week on Facebook. Since the posts don't come up in a chronological order I have no way to find out in a quick glance while walking to my office what was recent and what was not. I have to read all the stuff and recreate the order of events in my head while doing actual work at the same time. My Facebook usage is now down to once a month and I miss 90% of all posts (that is a fact, don't dispute it!) Not very user friendly. Now I have the same situation with Instagram.

But I'm sure you're right. You and Facebook know better what individual users want and what works for best for them. As long as they are the type of users that subscribe to 50 celebrity feeds and ton's of other inane stuff that clutters up their feed. And if you assume that they need to see all of these posts/pics.

 

[C DM]

Because as Instagram has said, even with those abilities the average user still misses 70% of the photos in their feed.

Why is it such a bad thing that they want to be sure you see photos from those accounts you engage with most, like your best friend or a brand you always comment on?

The other photos aren't going away. They'll still be there in chronological order as they've always been, right after a couple photos that you don't want to miss at the top of your feed.
[doublepost=1458212366][/doublepost]

No you couldn't. The average Facebook user would see more than 1,500 updates A DAY if they gave them to you in chronological order. Are you really going to scroll through the 200+ updates from your Trump supporter friends to find the cat videos? It's not going to happen. This is why the algorithm is needed.

Facebook has piles of data showing that the algorithm means people are more engaged with what they see on Facebook. People enjoy the service more. If they didn't, Facebook would have changed that years ago. Their #1 priority is to make sure people like the service and get what they want. If they don't, people don't return to Facebook and don't use it as much and that means less opportunity for them to show you an ad and make money.

Argue all you want that you know better, but they have billions of hours of user data that shows otherwise. You simply represent a very small minority and like most businesses, they're in the business of catering to the majority of their users, not the 0.01%
[doublepost=1458212488][/doublepost]

You won't miss anything. This update only means you'll see a couple of the most popular updates at the top but then you'll have your chronological feed right where it's always been just below those couple top updates.

Instagram has said most users miss 70% of the photos posted in their feed. Are you OK missing 70% if they're from the accounts you engage with most? 70% of pictures your friends post or brands you've shown you really like?

You aren't going to miss anything with this new feed. You're going to see stuff you would have missed but would have enjoyed.
[doublepost=1458212588][/doublepost]

What you're saying simply isn't true. You're missing 70% of the photos posted to your Instagram feed. This update will only make sure that you see photos from the accounts you engage with most often (those accounts you love but were missing some photos from) and then your normal feed will be right where below those couple pictures in chronological order.

Data showing people are engaging more because the system basically forces them to so so in order to get some results doesn't even say anything about the level of satisfaction those people are getting from all of that now that they wouldn't be happier seeing many things that they are otherwise missing.

 

[0970373]

You won't miss anything. This update only means you'll see a couple of the most popular updates at the top but then you'll have your chronological feed right where it's always been just below those couple top updates.

Instagram has said most users miss 70% of the photos posted in their feed. Are you OK missing 70% if they're from the accounts you engage with most? 70% of pictures your friends post or brands you've shown you really like?

You aren't going to miss anything with this new feed. You're going to see stuff you would have missed but would have enjoyed.

If it goes the way Facebook did, people will certainly miss things. I missed A LOT of what I actually wanted to see when FB made the switch. So now I have to use FB Purity to get it back to how I want it - chronological. Point is, people don't want it. I know how to manage my own feed - it is carefully curated both on FB and IG. I am not missing out on 70% of my feed. As long as they leave the option to sort chronologically, it's fine.

And you keep insisting that the people who are complaining are in the minority, which may be true in the larger sense of their total user base but that doesn't mean we should just accept it for what it is...data collection and a way to entice advertisers. This is not about decluttering the feed. Not at all. I'm really not sure why you are supporting this so fiercely unless....Mark? Is that you?

 

[C DM]

If it goes the way Facebook did, people will certainly miss things. I missed A LOT of what I actually wanted to see when FB made the switch. So now I have to use FB Purity to get it back to how I want it - chronological. Point is, people don't want it. I know how to manage my own feed - it is carefully curated both on FB and IG. I am not missing out on 70% of my feed. As long as they leave the option to sort chronologically, it's fine.

And you keep insisting that the people who are complaining are in the minority, which may be true in the larger sense of their total user base but that doesn't mean we should just accept it for what it is...data collection and a way to entice advertisers. This is not about decluttering the feed. Not at all. I'm really not sure why you are supporting this so fiercely unless....Mark? Is that you?

Not sure that the whole minority part of it rally has much behind either.

 

[Superhai]

First, for those friends that you never want to miss a post from you need to select "See First" from the Following menu in their profile.

Just like with brand pages, if your content isn't interesting to them, Facebook isn't going to show it to as many people.

I know you think your friends should have to suffer and see everything you share but I'm sure there are plenty of them happy to not see the stuff you share because it simply isn't relevant or interesting to them, no matter what you think.

It does not work the way you think. Sorry mate.

I don't subscribe to brands or add friends I don't want updates from. The problem for me is that Facebook decides what they think is interesting to me, which works sometimes, but often I find myself missing a lot. The problem being that they think that stuff I found interesting some weeks ago, suddenly jumps up to the top and pushes other stuff down. Even though it is something I already have read or don't want to see.

And no, I don't care very much if others are interested or not in whatever I am posting. It is my friends who asks why they don't see my stuff, except when they scroll far down or goes to my profile page. And yes it is because Facebook think I am less interesting for them. And by numbers it is true because I post rarely.

While choosing "most recent" still will require me to see some things I am less interested in, I have somewhat control as I know how far in the past I was and how far in the past I will be interested in seeing.