Prashant Singh Profile picture
Mar 27, 2019 17 tweets 4 min read Read on X
Got this interesting info on a @WhatsApp group I am part of. Caveat: I am not sure of its authenticity but If this is the case then it means @netflix is trying to Pre-emptively solve the "Facebook" problem. Image
"Facebook Problem": An unintended side effect of your product related choices because of which a platform /aggregator is held responsible for the action of the user . And where platform /aggregator insist that user had option and agency to act otherwise.
Exhibit A: Binge-Watching on @netflix Exhibit B: Filter Bubble of Google and Facebook.
however, what @netflix is doing is a double edge sword for them. Because the strategy of fine-tuning recommendations, if done right will eventually cultivate the same binge watching behavior.
And When they will get into Daily News (They will, Its a matter of "WHEN" not "IF" ) they will be blamed for Liberal / RW bias in Algo. Classic Catch-22.
I used to be dismissive of the impact of Social Media and these aggregated recommendation systems on the state of collective discourse and general mental well being. But I was being naive. Problem is real.
But I don't think that we should hold these companies responsible for what is just an unintended side effect. However, I believe that some kind of intervention and oversight should be there.
Let's see what we can learn from other industries who faced similar challenges.
SODA makers were forced to standardize the serving size because data shows that people take the same number of servings per meal irrespective of the size. So smaller size lesser consumption lesser side effect.
Should we have similar rules for the duration of an Episode on Netflix? I know I can't watch more than two episodes in a row . independent of time duration.
Cigarette makers were taxed heavily, were forced to do only surrogate advertisement, forced to show statutory graphic warning about Cancer on the package.
Maybe we can have some similar warning on before the shows like "Excessive binge watching of Suits can make you an annoying, insufferable jerk"
The best example is from the FOOD industry. Where the FDA put guidelines in place to put ingredient and nutrition info on the package. We now evaluate everything we evaluate in the unit of calories. We know what a balance calorie diet looks like.
Unfortunately, We don't have an equivalent unit for our media diet. Labels like PG13 are more like ingredient info but AFAIK there is no system of measurement to warn the consumer about the "nutritional" impact of a media on his / her mental well being.
Kind of a calorie scale for our media intake, designed to keep our cognitive health in good shape. We desperately need this.
This service has to be built by a third party. For example, a browser extension which parses every page you visit and give cognitive impact summary of the same the moment the page loads on the screen.
I think this can work if done right. Maybe i should work on this over the weekend. Will share my first draft soon for feedback. If you have any ideas please do share.
#endofrant

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Prashant Singh

Prashant Singh Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @pacificleo

Dec 4
I’ve seen this movie before, and spoiler alert: it doesn’t have a happy ending. What surprises me is how normal it feels for folks to ignore the obvious red flags—and, in cases like this gentleman’s, even throw a party for them. Let’s be honest: it’s nothing but glorified pickpocketing, just with better Wi-Fi.Image
I don’t know if Zepto is guilty of this; I really hope not. They don’t need these shenanigans. The market’s juicy enough to grow without playing dirty, and their founders are way too smart to wreck a good thing.
But hey, I wouldn’t be shocked if some “hacker” is quietly hacking away at ethics behind the scenes.
Read 21 tweets
Feb 1
In the Telecom VAS circle, there's a story about @One97 and @vijayshekhar . How they survived a near death experience .
They had product that could have disrupted the industry by moving VAS to a Revenue Share model from the Fixed Cost model championed by an incumbent. An Incumbent who made his fortune by riding on mobile wave.
That incumbent pulled a dirty trick and snatched the contract right from his hand at the last minute. (a story for another day when I am drunk . its worthy of a Netflix Mini Series).
Read 7 tweets
Dec 27, 2022
A multi part thread on empathy and its importance in product design. 🧵
Often times in my discussions with fellow PMs and Designers topic of empathy comes up. Everyone agrees that empathy is an essential starting point for a delightful design.
While everyone understands its importance in theory. In practice. Few actually do anything about it. Empathy is one of that woo-woo new-age concept that is hard to translate into action. That is why we see a lot of sub-optimal designs and dysfunctional products.
Read 51 tweets
Oct 2, 2022
AFAIK evidence against Nieman is at best circumstantial ergo non-conclusive. In all likelihood, he will get away with a slap on the wrist.IMHO It's a courageous but immature move on part of Carlsen to walk away from competition because of that.
First Naomi Osaka and now Carlsen. It is surprising how young upstarts and [potential] future doyens of sports are choosing to opt-out of competitions (and contractual obligations) because of personal [subjective ] assessment.
Is it because they are more loyal to the game than the governing body? That kind of transcendence is unlikely at a young age. Or is it the case of a lack of resilience and willingness to fight to change the system from within?
Read 7 tweets
May 21, 2021
A thread on hiring conundrum in startups . 🧵
Of late there has been lot of talk on twitter around cost of hiring in startups. Consensus seems to be that : Salaries for top talent are through the roof → You need top talent to succeed → You need a war chest of a funding to hire .
A corollary of same is that Bootstrapped or Seed funded startups are at disadvantage because they can't pay top salaries → they won't get top talent ( 10 X Engineer) and this constraint will jeopardise their chance of success .
Read 23 tweets
Apr 1, 2021
This Ongoing conversation on Flow Vs BaseCamp Vs Asana is a perfect case study on the complexity of how things happen in the real-world and how single-factor explanations are almost always too simplistic.
This offers a chance to talk about how to assimilate content you consume on internet , process it, and extract gasoline of knowledge from the crude oil Narrative. #badanalogy
Here @awilkinson told his version of events. tipped his hat to the winners ( @asana & @basecamp ) Then @jackiebo refuted it in the thread nested thread above 👆 Claiming there was more to Asana's success than just VC money .
Read 7 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(