Author | Lightnews

Great quote:

Most people who like BJJ really like BJJ, but most people who enjoy running only “kind of” like it. So if you are optimizing for “engagement,” videos about BJJ is a stronger signal...than videos about running! This has nothing to do with content; it is all about co-viewership patterns

Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 2d

New analysis finds TikTok "systematically boosts" Mamdami over Cuomo
medium.com/@dodeles/bey...

Last time someone looked at this, TikTok was found to "boost" Republican content. But what does it mean for an algorithm to "boost" content anyway?
doomscrollingbabel.manoel.xyz/p/does-tikto...

Does TikTok Amplify Certain Types of Content?

"There and back again"

doomscrollingbabel.manoel.xyz

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 1d

GreenEarth is creating open source AI-driven recommender infrastructure for BlueSky. Type a prompt, see your feed change. We are here for the users, the builders, the dreamers. Join us.
greenearthsocial.substack.com/p/introducin...

Introducing GreenEarth

We're building advanced open source algorithms for social media

greenearthsocial.substack.com

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 1d

tl;dr we live among intersectional bigotry, so any electorally winning political alliance has to include some bigots.

I'm sure many folks here will disagree 😛 Feel free to argue on principle, but can you dispute the numbers?
www.theargumentmag.com/p/bigots-in-...

Bigots in the tent

What did you think winning meant? vibes? papers? essays? losers.

www.theargumentmag.com

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 1d

And yet there are plenty of Marxists in the academy for economists to argue with, esp in the social sciences... www.econlib.org/archives/201...

The Prevalence of Marxism in Academia - Econlib

As the Iron Curtain crumbled, people often joked, “Marxism is dead everywhere – except American universities.” The stereotype of the Marxist professor runs deep. But is this stereotype grounded in s...

www.econlib.org

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 1d

Yeah that's pretty much exactly the point. Showing "bias" would require that more people are recommended content X over content Y even though *everything else is the same* between the two and everything else is never exactly the same.

To their credit, they end with a call for algo transparency.

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 1d

The Portland Naked Bicycle Ride succeeded in shifting the media narrative from "violence" to "naked" for a week, even (especially) in right-leaning sources.
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/the-strate...

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 2d

New analysis finds TikTok "systematically boosts" Mamdami over Cuomo
medium.com/@dodeles/bey...

Last time someone looked at this, TikTok was found to "boost" Republican content. But what does it mean for an algorithm to "boost" content anyway?
doomscrollingbabel.manoel.xyz/p/does-tikto...

Does TikTok Amplify Certain Types of Content?

"There and back again"

doomscrollingbabel.manoel.xyz

1 1 8

Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 2d

Clearly unpopular opinion here:
I often like Weiss's work. I think she's clearly a "reporter." She could take the persecution complex down a notch, but IMO folks who imagine her as very "right wing" or even "MAGA" misestimate where the American public actually is. "Center right" feels more accurate.

Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 2d

Why did links get downranked on Twitter? My best guess (with slight inside info) is:
a) Link posts do less well naturally because of UI, which Twitter now confirms
b) so link posts were formerly *boosted*
c) ranking greatly simplified after Elon, including removing link boost
x.com/nikitabier/s...

Nikita Bier on X: "We're testing a new link experience, starting on iOS -- to make it easier for your followers to engage with your post while browsing links. For creators, a common complaint is that posts with links tend to get lower reach. This is because the web browser covers the post and https://t.co/oWraLpPwji" / X

We're testing a new link experience, starting on iOS -- to make it easier for your followers to engage with your post while browsing links. For creators, a common complaint is that posts with links tend to get lower reach. This is because the web browser covers the post and https://t.co/oWraLpPwji

x.com

Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 2d

Seeing lots of "did those protests matter?" chatter.
Please see my FAQ.
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/does-prote...

Does Protest Even Work?

Yes. If it's big enough and non-violent — BCB #144

www.betterconflictbulletin.org

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 2d

The Jays won the world series twice before, in 1992 and 1993. But another one would be nice :)

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 2d

We are working closely with them :)

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 3d

Our team is building open algorithmic feeds for ATProto. The big bet here is not that we can make something radically better than the platforms, but radically more collaborative. We're building tools for everyone to experiment with the problem. And choose what they like best from the results.

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 6d

What's missing, in your view?

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 6d

why is the second one dumb?

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 7d

TIL the Apollo 13 astronauts were on team "hotdogs are sandwiches" and I might never be the same.

Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 8d

What people believe about immigration, what the relevant facts are about economics, demographics and crime, who's pushing what narratives, what policies poll well, and what the humane ways out of this disaster might be.
www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/we-have-to...

We Have to Talk About Immigration

Tips and facts for a sensible conversation - BCB #168

www.betterconflictbulletin.org

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 10d

You could make it a thing

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 17d

80 degrees out so I’m still working on campus but outside, reading papers, drinking a boba tea, touching grass.

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Jonathan Stray @jonathanstray.bsky.social · 18d

This data probably greatly overstates the case. Most surveys on this topic do, due to inattentive responding and poorly worded questions.
More careful research

home.dartmouth.edu/news/2024/02...

Study: Most Americans Do Not Support Partisan Violence | Dartmouth

home.dartmouth.edu

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