I’ve been hard at work on my manuscript for my upcoming book, Filterworld, which as you all probably know by now, is about the impact of algorithmic feeds and recommendations on culture. It covers how digital platforms pressure users to discover and consume culture — music, TV, writing, design — in particular ways, and also pressure creators to shape their art to fit the mold of the algorithmic recommendations.
In the book, I want to describe our user experiences as much as possible: what it’s like to be a person consuming culture in the 21st-century dawn of massive digital platforms. To that end, I also want to hear from as many people as possible about their algorithmic experiences and encounters, because by their nature they are different for everyone. I made a short survey (via Google Forms) to collect those stories and I’d love for all of you readers of this newsletter to participate.
It’s just nine questions, you don’t have to answer all of them, and there’s a cool song at the end!! Isn’t that enticement enough? If I can contact you to follow up, put in your name and email. Every response truly helps. The survey has questions like:
When you think of "the algorithm," what is the definition that comes to mind?
Do the algorithms of different platforms / feeds feel very different? Like TikTok vs Instagram, FB vs Twitter, Netflix vs Spotify...
As a creator (artist, musician, writer, YouTuber, etc), do you ever feel pressure to mold your work in a certain way to fit with an algorithmic feed / platform?
Yesterday, I put a paper notebook in my tote bag, not a common practice for me as far as writing, and went to the hotel lobby cafe on my block that I treat as a coworking space. I covered a few pages with notes on what I wanted the book to accomplish once it’s done. One of the biggest goals is to build some shared language and collective understanding of our digital-cultural lives — by describing how things work, and breaking down the weirdness of these feeds, the book can take some steps in moving away from that system. It’s only when we realize what’s happening that we can react against it, and one of the tricks of algorithmic feeds is that their influence can be very subtle and passive, to the point that you have to think about it to notice it. So I want to spark that awareness.
That’s my pitch for taking the survey — you can help me understand how algorithmic feeds are influencing us. The book is tightly focused on culture, as vague as that term is. Of course, algorithms shape our political discourse, healthcare systems, policing, and real estate, but I’m concentrating on the softer subjects that may seem less important, though they are no less impacted. This is about our creativity and our entertainment, the art that, as one of my art history professors once told me, won’t necessarily change the world but does make life worth living in the first place.
Please do pass this on to your friends or reply to me via email with any thoughts. I often think about how nonfiction books are conveners of public conversations, an occasion to discuss a topic in depth and perhaps change our thinking about it. I’m hoping Filterworld will achieve that.
A Photo of Our Dog
I feel bad that this email is so ask-y. So here’s a photo of Jess and my dog, Rhubarb, at the dog park closest to our apartment today. Such pose! She’s definitely still growing.
P.S. Jess just wrote a great politics story from Wyoming on Liz Cheney’s simultaneous crusade against Trump and embattled re-election campaign at home. Read it!