Start here · Essential guide
How Social Feeds Decide What You See
A plain explanation of how social feeds rank posts, which signals they commonly use, and why two people following the same accounts see different things.
Trends and Technology
Platforms and Algorithms
How feeds, creators, rules and regulation shape what people see.
Artificial Intelligence in Social Media: Possibilities and Concerns
How machine learning is used for recommendations, moderation and generated content on social networks, with the benefits, risks and open questions on each.
Attention and Design: Why Apps Are Hard to Put Down
A balanced look at design features such as infinite scroll, notifications and variable rewards that hold attention, and the ongoing debate about their effects.
Content Moderation at Scale: Why It Is Hard
Why moderating billions of posts is so difficult: sheer volume, missing context, cultural differences, and the trade-offs between speed, accuracy and fairness.
Messaging Standards and Moving Between Services
Why messaging services usually cannot talk to each other, how email and phone calls differ, and what shared standards could change, including the trade-offs.
Open and Decentralized Social Networks Explained
What it means for a social network not to be run by one company, how federated and open designs work, and the trade-offs in moderation, ease of use and cost.
Regulation of Social Platforms: Common Approaches
An overview of the kinds of rules governments consider for social platforms, from privacy and transparency to child safety, with notes on why approaches vary by place.
The Creator Economy: How People Earn From Posting
A realistic overview of the ways creators may earn money from posting, including ads, sponsorships and products, plus the uncertainty and unseen work involved.
Understanding Data Collection and Personalization
What kinds of data social services commonly collect, how it is used to personalize feeds and ads, and what choices people typically have to limit it.
Why Platforms Change Their Rules and Features
The common reasons social platforms change policies, algorithms and features, how these changes affect creators, businesses and users, and how to adapt calmly.
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