"In recent decades, the #DemocraticParty’s voter base has shifted towards highly educated, urban professionals... In contrast, the #RepublicanParty has become the political home for white #Americans who lack four-year college degrees. "
#socialmedia
#politicalbias
#algorithm
Scapegoating the Algorithm—Asterisk
https://asteriskmag.com/issues/11/scapegoating-the-algorithm
What if TikTok and Wikipedia had a baby?
Great article from @Shira on the latest homegrown experiment using our favourite encyclopaedia 🫶 with mentions of @depthsofwiki and @molly0xfff in there too!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/02/14/wikitok-scroll-wikipedia-pages/
(re)defining big o notation
https://somehybrid.github.io/jekyll/update/2025/01/07/big-o-notation.html
i have a grid of boxes that are 1x1 and i want to expand them to represent the same shape but with fewer boxes,
i have a hunch of how to approach this, but i'm trying to work out what this type of problem is called so i can peek at what other people have come up with.
any suggestions? #algorithm #math
I haven’t been here for a while. Is it still “you ARE the #algorithm “ here on #mastodon ?
Because I don’t want to be the algorithm
I don't want a Mastodon #algorithm, I don't want to discover new content or to be discovered. I just want the option to see content in some order other than chronological. For example: most-liked/boosted in past 24 hrs., most active conversations, top posts from people I don't follow (that is boosted by people I do follow), etc. I can code something with the API to deliver this, but man it would be nice to just have an app that did it for me!
Since we can't search all of #Mastodon, and there isn't an #Algorithm, and very limited surfacing of #Trending topics, when people toot references to things that are happening, I never know what they are talking about. I just feel left out.
I keep seeing mentions/comments about there being no #Algorithm on Mastodon. I’d argue there is a DIY algorithm. My algorithm is to follow a range of (mostly) smaller accounts who post across a spectrum of interests, including those who regularly boost toots from larger/busy accounts I am interested in—this way I get a curated view but can easily connect with the account if I want a more fulsome review; without having to follow the large account and have it flood my feed…
The #RSA #algorithm was found in 1978 by Ron Rivest, Ali Shamir and Leonard Aleman.
However Clifford Cocks, who had worked for the #GCHQ, discovered it in 1973 while he worked on a top #secret project, that has now been declassified.
I don't know how many times I can scream it but for anyone new here from the latest #twittermigration #twitterexodus here is the best advice for having an awesome time on this site:
Find a #hashtag you like that may be part of your interests (e.g. - #mst3k, #ukraine, #breakingnews) and click it. Then look for the little dude in the top right of the feed and SMASH HIM
Suddenly any post with the hashtag will be in your main feed regardless of who you follow. And around here #HASHTAGS ARE USEFUL! No reason to spam when there's no ad revenue or #algorithm!
And this place has another awesome feature: TIMED MUTES/BLOCKS
If you don't want to see someone's stuff for an hour or so, just choose to keep them quiet for a bit.
Say they're annoying you with #protips about #mastodon but you know their #ADHD will force them to move onto #Mosstodon by lunch... MUTE THEM UNTIL LUNCH 
Just set it and forget it and then they'll show up again!
Again, the three tips for achieving #JohnMastodon's grand vision:
1) Boost
2) Follow
3) Post with #hashtags
Enjoy!
I actually wish there was an #algorithm on Mastodon.
I want to follow many people, but I also do not wish to miss relevant posts. The problem with algorithms on Twitter/FB is that they optimize for Twitter/FB and not for the user. On Mastodon, we could have an algorithm that each user could tailor to their own needs.
If you enjoy someone's post on #Mastodon go ahead and click the star. If someone tells you that's meaningless because there's no #algorithm, ignore them. Sure, boost the post too if you want others to also see the post, but don't think telling someone you like what they posted is somehow unimportant. In real life I don't tell someone, "good job," or "well said," or "I love that," for the sake of some algorithm, I do it because I'm human and they are too. It's fundamental to being truly social.
Algorithms can't tell you what to think. They can tell you what to think about.
Interestingly I am quickly homing in on my twitter follower count here on #mastodon - One thing I do think is that it is much easier to connect and interact with like minded folks on here.
With that being said I also think that posts will generally have much less reach as there is no #algorithm to 'blow up' your posts.
![Avatar for [REDACTED]™, Instance Migrator](/proxy/identity_icon/556196050634194618/4bacba90c0.gif){kind=icon}
