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I'm reading the book "Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language". I just hit the chapter on the author's own experiences as a content creator, and how calculated tuning a post to maximize popularity can be - from back in the day (posting early in the morning when the algorithm Reddit then used would disadvantage staler posts) to now in today's shortform video landscape (crafting to employ emotionally engaging words at every turn)

Some of these creators just treat it as a game to win popularity or sometimes a form of gambling, where their efforts on one end have a chance of turning into actual dollars. It's disheartening though to people who would prefer ideas get traction based on their own merit.

And of course, the same techniques can be used in service of an agenda, political or otherwise. I mean it's TRULY disconcerting how Trump reposts memes by the score on a nightly basis. Someone out there - multiple someones - are extremely aware of this, and are certainly using those kind of sordid gaming the system techniques to plant a bug in his ear. Like, I know some of it is just trolling to "own the libs", but having "the algorithm" and the attention economy so at the heart of the guidance of the country doesn't seem like such a wise way to be.