Algorithms: yet another thing that we barely paid attention to at school that’s now biting us in the backside.
Instagram is the latest company to drop the algorithm buzzword, with the announcement that as of today, it will change to a system where the “best” photos rise to the top of your timeline, rather than the most recent.
The reason behind it, according to stats on Instagram’s blog, is that most users “miss on average 70% of their feeds”. Changing to an algorithmic timeline will make sure you don’t miss out.
Needless to say, it’s causing a lot of Instagram users to freak out, asking followers to switch on their notifications so they don’t miss out of their photos.
https://twitter.com/elenacresci/status/714382696416481280
So it seems the only pictures on instagram today are turn on post notifications pictures #instagramchanges
— San B (@TattySan) March 28, 2016
https://twitter.com/katrinaolson/status/713753289695764480
Even John Mayer (yes, that John Mayer) chimed in with his thoughts.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BDEEGbvuEYl/?taken-by=johnmayer
If the change is a success it could mean that photos uploaded from close friends and people you’ve ‘liked’ previously will be more readily available for you to see.
Instagram’s move is particularly interesting, as it comes after Twitter announced it would be trialling a similar re-jig of its newsfeed to bring you the “best” tweets, as opposed to the most recent ones.
Facebook, who owns Instagram, already uses an algorithmic newsfeed where you see posts from people who you interact with most more frequently. So the best rise to the top instead of the last one there.
Best get working on your photo skills then boys, you don’t want to be left behind. Don’t forget to ask for our pals to switch on their notifications.
