“Striking a Balance: Navigating the Perilous Tightrope Between Human Readers and Relentless Algorithms”
In today’s digital landscape, writers are caught in a thrilling yet perplexing dilemma: Should we cater our creativity to the capricious whims of human editors or chase the mercurial nature of black-box algorithms? It’s akin to choosing between a rollercoaster ride and a math exam—exhilaratingly unpredictable or tediously inscrutable! The chase for visibility online feels like dart-throwing in the dark, where one day your prose takes flight, and the next, it sinks without a trace. In this thought-provoking exploration, I’ll unpack the numerous challenges faced by budding and seasoned writers alike as we navigate this puzzling duality of humanity and technology. So buckle up and let’s dive into the world where arbitrary gatekeepers and enigmatic algorithms reign! LEARN MORE
An Untethered Life
Is it better to write for unpredictable people or black-box algorithms?
Sometimes it seems that writing in public forces us to choose between two frustrating avenues: Do we write for unpredictable human gatekeepers? Or do we write to satisfy blackbox algorithms that reward work with visibility seemingly at random?
In this story, I’m going to talk a little bit about the difficulties you’re likely to encounter as you begin to write online and encounter the two-headed monster of arbitrary humans working in tandem with inscrutable algorithms.
Let’s go!
The notorious plague of algorithmic selection
If you’re at all familiar with writing online in any capacity, you’ve undoubtedly encountered “the algorithm.” This all-encompassing term refers to the code lying underneath the hood of every online distributor of written content, from Twitter/X to LinkedIn, Medium, Substack, and more.
And if you’ve run into this beast, you already know how arbitrary, inscrutable, and confusing it can be. Stuff you write that you’d never think twice about gets rewarded with surprising promotion. Stuff you worked…
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