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YouTube Is Messing With the Order of Videos In Some User Feeds (gizmodo.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the features-nobody-asked-for dept.

YouTube is testing non-chronological subscription feeds to try and serve you content that it thinks you'll want to see at the top. The problem with this is that the subscription feed exists because users subscribed to content that they want to see. If they don't, they will unsubscribe, thereby removing unwanted content from the feed. Gizmodo reports: YouTube confirmed the test on Twitter after some users noticed the change and inquired as to why the heck their subscription feed was no longer in chronological order. YouTube must have missed the memo about how users react when platforms mess with the order of the sacred feed.

Here's YouTube's how-to and troubleshooting Twitter account explained the test: "Just to clarify. We are currently experimenting with how to show content in the subs feed. We find that some viewers are able to more easily find the videos they want to watch when we order the subs feed in a personalized order vs always showing most recent video first." Weird, considering YouTube already offers recommended videos based on your viewing habits and subscribed channels in its sidebar.

4 of 92 comments (clear)

  1. Another site that thinks it knows better... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 4, Insightful
    ... when will these websites STOP trying to outguess what I want to see on the web and when I want to see it. If I select "chronological order," maybe, just maybe, I want to view things in chronological order.

    .
    Don't your programmers have anything better to work on?

  2. Just like Facebook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They're almost certainly doing this to promote channels and content that they deem to be acceptable. Facebook does the same thing: posts that they believe will drive more engagement will appear more frequently. Posts that they don't think will drive cash or are simply things that they disagree with will appear less frequently, if at all.

    A lot of content creators lately, like Mark Dice, have been announcing that their subscribers aren't seeing their new videos at all in their subscription feeds. This is probably an early implementation of this "feature"

  3. Re:Stopit by jythie · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Unlikely. They are probably being capitalist and steering people to the videos that their advertisers like the most.

  4. You had ONE job! by swm · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Evidently, it was to break the UI.

    Well done!