How clips ate the internet

Once upon a time, you could probably guess why most things appeared on your feed. Maybe you followed the creator who posted it; maybe you'd liked their stuff in the past; maybe all your friends were into them. That's not how it works anymore, though. The stuff you see on Tik Tok, Instagram, You Tube Shorts, and elsewhere has become much harder to trace - the feeds are run by algorithms with lots of conflicting incentives, and are being gamed by an army of internet users you might not even know exist. Verge subscribers, don't forget you get exclusive access to ad-free Vergecast wherever you get your podcasts. Head here. Not a subscriber? Yo … Read the full story at The Verge.