The case for an anti algorithm world.

On a recent evening at NYC’s Strand bookstore, in a dimly lit room filled with vintage books on the 7th floor, Nathan Jurgenson and Elspeth Reeve had a thought provoking chat about how the Internet has changed us.

The room had just been opened up for questions when a loud crackling came over the microphone and an audience member asked: What would an Internet based on not-for-profit business marketing look like?

As someone who works in the advertising industry and spends most of their time devising strategies that help brands succeed on social media platforms, this really shook me up! Has the very essence of these communication tools been lost to calculated algorithms and newsfeeds that loyally serve posts echoing our own personal and political affinities? Platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram claim that these new algorithms are designed to bring us more of the content we love, including posts from businesses which can get lost in the clutter of a busy newsfeed. While this might be true, this involuntary reorganization takes control away from the viewer and places trust completely in the hands of the platform.

There is however, an alternate to the algorithm approach which is proving to be successful in the long run, extend the value offered to users and not marketers. Publishers like the New York Times have doubled down on the value of journalism offered to its readers, which in turn has dramatically increased their readership; they’ve gone from 1.5 million print subscribers in 1995, to 2.5 million print and digital subscribers combined at present. They have achieved a never before seen publishing milestone; they are now making more revenue from subscribers than advertisers. This is not formula that can be blindly adopted for social media or the Internet-at-large, but it unearths an undeniable truth — As the new central destinations for mass media consumption, communication platforms such as Facebook need to return to their original purpose “fluid communication tools that enhance relationships irrespective of the distance.”

This is my case for an anti-algorithm world, a world in which communication platforms re-establish their value and use data science insights to enrich our time spent interacting with them. For brands and communication platforms that are looking to play the long game, I believe it first starts with asking a couple of questions:

What would an internet not based on for-profit business marketing look like?

Would this place the user back at the center of the conversation?

Would this mean a renewed focus on creativity and penmanship over paid media strategies?

Thanks for all your help with the edit Aja!