If you're looking for a foolproof way to start a heated debate amongst social media users, bring up the Instagram algorithm.
Since the new algorithm came into play in June 2016, users have had to get used to scrolling through a totally new timeline, which ranks posts based on how much Instagram thinks you want to see them, rather than chronologically.
And while there were rumours of Instagram bringing back the old timeline, they haven't come into fruition - and at a recent press conference attended by Tech Crunch, Instagram insisted the algorithm was here to stay, adding that its 800 million-plus users are now seeing 90 percent of their friends’ posts and spending more time on the app, compared to missing 50 percent of their friends’ posts before.
So, how exactly does the algorithm work? Is there any method in the madness? What's the thought process behind the order of timeline photos?
1. How interested in the post are you likely to be?
Essentially, Instagram order the posts on your timeline based on how interested in them they think you're going to be, taking into account how you've interacted with similar posts beforehand. Tech Crunch say they might even use machine-vision to analyse the actual content of the post, meaning if you've liked pics of brunch or bloggers with peonies before? You'll probably see similar pictures again.
2. How interested in the person are you likely to be?
So content aside, how engaged are you with that specific person? Do you like everything they post? Do you save every photo of a specific fashion blogger for future inspo? Instagram take all this - and your general tech relationship with each other - into consideration, showing people who you've been tagged in photos with, commented on, replied to stories of, higher on your timeline.
3. How recently was the photo posted?
While Instagram's timeline is no longer chronological, this doesn't mean they don't consider how recently the photo was posted at all. Instead, they prioritise timely ones over week old ones.
4. Does it matter how often the person posts?
Instagram insist they don't down-rank users for posting too frequently, or for using too many hashtags, instead basing their algorithm on the above three points. In fact, the social media app insists it doesn't shadow-ban or hide anyone's content from the timeline at all - if you were to keep scrolling, you would see every single post, just like you used to be able to.
Essentially, posting content that's true to you, engaging with the accounts that you like, and using Instagram for it's intended purpose, and you will keep appearing in timeline's that want to see you.
Dusty Baxter-Wright is an award-winning journalist and the Entertainment and Lifestyle Director at Cosmopolitan, having previously worked at Sugarscape. She was named one of PPA’s 30 Under 30 for her work covering pop culture, careers, interiors and travel, and oversees the site’s Entertainment and Lifestyle strategy across print, digital and video. As a journalist for the best part of a decade, she has interviewed everyone from Louis Theroux and Channing Tatum to Margot Robbie and Ncuti Gatwa, while she has also spoken on Times Radio and BBC Radio. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram here.
