According to Jonah Peretti, CEO of BuzzFeed Inc., there’s a desire to bring back the fun element on the internet. After a long period where they relied on other social media platforms to disseminate their content to viewers, BuzzFeed plans to take matters into their own hands by launching a brand-new social media platform.
In a memo published today, Peretti criticized TikTok and Meta, pointing out that their CEOs, Zhang Yiming and Mark Zuckerberg, seem to pay less attention to content quality and instead are deeply invested in technology and artificial intelligence. According to Peretti, these companies often rely on the decisions of AI systems over those of human workers within the company.
He notes that TikTok managed to thrive in nations where those constructing the app had no knowledge of the local language or culture, and the material being disseminated. Previously engaged Meta employees in content policy have largely been supplanted by AI, which has diminished their feeling of significance as human judgment is increasingly overlooked when designing these systems.
In his memorandum, Peretti points out that social media sites focus on sharing content that escalates the sense of importance (high stakes) artificially, which in turn stirs up anger and instills fear, along with other distressing emotions, as a strategy for keeping users engaged.
Peretti, who manages a range of ventures such as BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed Studios for film and TV production, HuffPost news organization, and Tasty food-focused media, unveils plans to debut a fresh social media platform. The purpose? To disseminate happiness and foster lively, imaginative self-expression. While the specifics are scarce at this stage, Peretti hinted that this new platform aims to empower users rather than taking away their power. Interested individuals can provide their email addresses or phone numbers by visiting a website featuring an animated island.
2024 marked a turning point for me as a devoted fan, with BuzzFeed revealing its new social media venture following a challenging year. Back in February, they parted ways with their Complex division, selling it to the dynamic livestream shopping platform NTWRK for a whopping $109 million. As December rolled around, I watched with anticipation as they sold off their beloved Hot Ones brand, First We Feast, to a group of investors. This impressive lineup included Crooked Media and Sorors Fund Management, spearheaded by none other than founder Chris Schonberger and host Sean Evans. It’s an exciting time for BuzzFeed and its fans like me!
As a fervent admirer, I can’t help but echo Peretti’s enthusiasm when he pens, “After spending years tied to other platforms, it’s thrilling to finally embark on the significant journey of creating our very own.
Read Peretti’s full memo below.
Hi all,
In essence, many fears concerning the future revolve around the present. We are concerned about a scenario where AI reduces our control, diminishes the worth of our work, and fosters social unrest. However, it’s important to recognize that this reality is not confined to the future; it’s already materializing in our current world. The essence of our significance, purpose, and control has been subtly eroded by AI technologies.
In the United States, the trend started with the debut of TikTok. Back in 2017, I had a conversation with Zhang Yiming, the founder of ByteDance, before he developed TikTok. He shared his plan to introduce an app in the US, but he lacked a steady supply of video content. When I asked about the type of content, he responded that it didn’t matter; he simply required tens of thousands of videos daily.
He explained that Chinese universities annually produce more Deep Learning PhDs than all the ones employed in every Silicon Valley company put together. This abundance of talent allowed him to create an AI so sophisticated that the quality of content was irrelevant. He merely needed a massive amount of content to kickstart his AI and provide a personalized user experience. Later, he acquired Musical.ly, transformed it into TikTok by incorporating advanced AI, and the rest is a well-documented tale.
In a manner similar to Zhang Yiming, Mark Zuckerberg places less emphasis on the content displayed on his platforms and is more fascinated by technology and AI. As TikTok surged in prominence, Meta took aggressive steps to match ByteDance’s success. They heavily invested in the same type of deep learning AI that powers TikTok, even going as far as rebuilding their data centers with billions of dollars worth of GPUs years before the current AI craze. These initiatives have brought Meta extremely close to ByteDance and managed to curb TikTok’s growth. However, this focus on technology also meant that employees at Meta were left in the dark regarding why content was being recommended by their algorithms. The deep learning approach, which relies on massively parallel computation, led to increased metrics, but the teams at Meta remained unaware of why one piece of content was favored over another because the decisions were made within the confines of the deep learning’s complex algorithmic structure.
In recent times, decisions made by artificial intelligence in tech companies have surpassed those made by human employees. For instance, TikTok managed to launch successfully in countries where its developers didn’t understand the local language or culture, yet still distributed content effectively. Previously, Meta employees played a significant role in shaping content policies, but their influence has dwindled as AI takes over these roles, causing some humans to question their purpose in designing these systems. Lately, Zuckerberg has announced plans to utilize AI agents as “mid-level engineers.” This leaves many Meta workers feeling like they are simply receiving a universal basic income (UBI), with the value-creating AIs being the primary source of compensation.
Artificial intelligence (AI) decisions have become more important than human decisions in tech companies. For example, TikTok was successful even when its developers didn’t understand the local language or culture. Previously, humans made key decisions about content policies at Meta, but now AI is taking over these roles. Some people are concerned that their jobs at Meta feel less meaningful because of this shift, as they might only receive a small portion of the value created by the AIs.
However, the significant erosion of personal control arises primarily from the vast multitude of individuals who utilize these apps. These advanced deep learning AIs are engineered to prolong the time we all spend on these platforms. As you read this document, it’s likely that an irresistible urge to check Instagram or TikTok is stirring within you. It’s been discovered that when app developers prioritize usage over content, they unintentionally create a service that rewards addictive content. The kind of content produced and recommended isn’t necessarily the highest quality, but rather the content that triggers the most compulsive and predictable reaction in the human brain. When companies prioritize usage over content and rely on AI to do so, the content transforms into what I refer to as “SNARF.
The Rise of SNARF
SNARF represents an acronym for Stakes, Novelty, Anger, Retention, and Fear. This type of content is generated when a platform instructs an AI system to boost engagement. Content producers strive to meet the AI’s requirements to remain significant or risk being sidelined. Countless creators produce SNARF content to maintain visibility and sustain their livelihoods.
By making a few changes in structure and using simpler, more everyday language, the meaning of the original text remains the same while becoming more accessible and easy to read.
People who spend a lot of time online will recognize this type of content. Content producers often intensify the significance of their work to make it seem crucial and life-threatening. They fabricate originality and present their work as revolutionary and one-of-a-kind. They stir up anger to boost engagement through outrage, they keep viewers hooked by withholding information until the end of a video, and they stimulate fear to ensure that people pay attention urgently. Because every piece of content is subject to fierce competition, only SNARF can succeed, even if it’s inaccurate, harmful, fake, questionable from an ethical standpoint, or intellectually flawed.
This phenomenon leads to various types of content mutating into similar forms. Once you grasp this concept, it becomes clear how deeply intertwined our society, culture, and politics are with the global operations of tech giants, often referred to as their SNARF machines. The political ideologies that gain traction, from both Democrats and Republicans, must be molded into SNARF-like formats to propagate. From this perspective, MAGA and “woke” movements can be seen as the same thing! They are manifestations of political ideas that thrive on raw emotional responses such as anger, outrage, and novelty. The news stories and journalism that gain traction aren’t necessarily the most significant or crucial stories, but rather those that can be molded into SNARF-like formats. This is why it might seem like every election, new technology, global conflict has the potential to bring about the end of our way of life, the destruction of democracy, or trigger a global catastrophe! It’s not a coincidence that regardless of the message, it always assumes the same form – memetically optimized media designed to maximize stakes and novelty, provoke anger, foster retention, and instill fear. The end result is an unending stream of addictive content that leaves everyone feeling drained, anxious, and discontented.
In 2018, I discussed this issue with the head of Facebook’s NewsFeed, expressing concerns that when BuzzFeed produces high-quality content, it doesn’t receive recognition. Instead, it’s the controversial content that thrives. I posed a question: Should digital media outlets create divisive content to succeed on Facebook, or produce positive content and witness a decrease in business and traffic? These sentiments from my email were later shared with Congress by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. Unfortunately, the situation has worsened, not improved, as I previously mentioned. Additionally, the increasing competition from TikTok has caused all major US social platforms to intensify their focus on SNARF (a term that represents a strategy of prioritizing content that is sensational, negative, alarming, rage-inducing, and fear-mongering).
Platforms found it challenging to resist integrating SNARF due to its high addictiveness and ability to boost engagement metrics and revenue. Addictive behavior is one of the most predictable consumer tendencies and can be easily exploited for financial gain. Since I issued my warning in 2018, Meta’s market capitalization has more than quadrupled, reaching over $1.7 trillion. It seems that Zuckerberg didn’t heed my advice, and he must be delighted with the outcome. With Trump now in power, a candidate who skillfully utilized SNARF to secure his victory, there is immense pressure on all platforms to accommodate free SNARF content. Major platforms are succumbing to this pressure by declaring they will end “censorship,” which is essentially allowing politically charged misinformation and conspiracy theories to run rampant on their platforms. For the time being, SNARF appears to be the dominant form of media, shaping how businesses, politics, and media operate.
Growing Discontent
As a gamer, I can’t help but feel a glimmer of optimism amidst the ever-expanding dominance of big social media platforms. Cracks are starting to show, hinting at a chance to push back. Intriguingly, a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that most respondents would prefer a world without TikTok and Instagram! The general sentiment was one of being coerced into using these platforms due to fear of missing out (FOMO), social pressure, and addiction. Remarkably, many users expressed a willingness to pay for the non-existence of these platforms, suggesting they bring negative value to numerous people. This goes against traditional economic theory that consumer choice indicates positive utility. Instead, it appears that social media companies are using AI to control consumer behavior, not for their benefit. This aligns with what researchers suspect: companies introduce features that heighten the need for a product without actually increasing its delivered utility, ultimately decreasing consumer welfare.
AI’s impact on human autonomy is disrupting traditional economic theories and challenging established views about the tech industry and competition. Prominent analysts like Ben Thompson, however, have yet to fully grasp this significant shift, continuing to argue that big tech companies are consumer-friendly and expanding their market share by providing value to customers. In his perspective, social media platforms function as “aggregators” that offer immense benefits to consumers by offering a beloved product at no cost. He maintains that this customer focus is why most anti-trust efforts are misguided. However, he overlooks the fact that this was only accurate in the early stages before these platforms leveraged advanced AI to amplify the addictiveness of their services. If we liken the early internet to a social gathering offering drinks, today’s internet is more like a dealer peddling harmful substances that tear people apart. Consumers are not truly benefiting when they become addicted to products that cause them distress, and when they spend significant portions of their day using services they would pay to disappear. Any theory of business competition requires an update with a more nuanced understanding derived from addiction psychology and behavioral economics.
People haven’t fully grasped it yet, but AI-driven platforms have essentially brought about a dystopian future some have feared for the future. They’ve given us a President who resembles MAGA and promotes divisive rhetoric (SNARF), as well as a counter-culture that champions radical ideologies, including advocating violence against figures like health insurance executives – all marked by high stakes, novelty, and intense emotion. They’ve also established an information landscape where crucial data during emergencies like the LA fires is scarce, replaced instead by arguments over identity politics, manipulated images, and conspiracy theories. It’s amusing to me that so many still blame “The Media” when their actions are significantly influenced by the larger tech platforms, which distribute most of the world’s content despite often showing little interest in the content itself. These tech giants, worth trillions, control information flow, attend presidential inaugurations, and yet refuse accountability for the media ecosystem they helped create indirectly as a byproduct of AI advancements. However, the public is gradually waking up. More and more people are recognizing that the system is flawed. They’re yearning for change.
Time To Fight Back
As a passionate advocate for the power of digital content, I stand apart from other platforms because I truly believe in its potential to shape culture and drive progress. I’m eager to take a stand against the dominance of SNARF and restore some fun and excitement to the internet. I see a strong yearning among users for the more laid-back, enjoyable days of the internet, and I aim to recreate that atmosphere on platforms like BuzzFeed, HuffPost, and Tasty.
My goal is to create content that provides a bit of a buzz, helps people unwind, have a good time, and connect with their peers. However, I can’t be blind to the challenges we face. It’s tough to sell beer when competitors are peddling hard drugs for free. Therefore, we must meticulously craft our content to ensure it stands out in social media feeds against SNARF.
We need to choose stories where the stakes and novelty are genuinely high, not artificially inflated. We should tackle issues where anger and fear may be warranted, but also infuse these with joy and entertainment. We must demonstrate that uplifting and truthful content can perform just as well if given the right focus and care.
Above all, we need to bring honesty, joy, creativity, and positive entertainment to the social web, giving users better alternatives in the vast ocean of SNARF. In essence, our mission is to infuse truth, joy, creativity, and positive entertainment into the digital landscape so that people have more appealing options in their quest for a fulfilling online experience.
Here is how we will do it….
BuzzFeed aims to handpick the top internet finds, offering an alternative to automatically suggested content known as SNARF. We’ll handle the endless scrolling for you, helping you stay up-to-date on popular trends, discover hidden treasures, and engage without wasting your time or jeopardizing your wellbeing. We’ll balance out anger and fear with humor, laughing at the absurdity and silliness of powerful figures. We’ll combat gaslighting and misinformation by speaking to our diverse audience in unique ways that other institutions, media, and platforms won’t. No matter the external pressures, we will prioritize preserving and celebrating our community’s joy and humanity. While SNARF encourages interaction, with our approach, we can still break through with laughter, joy, and a touch of righteous indignation. And by creating more light-hearted and playful content, we aim to bring back the fun and entertainment value of the internet, covering topics like celebrities, shopping, and personal advice.
HuffPost aims to make an impact by focusing on topics that truly matter, are unique, and warrant genuine concern, without shying away from employing effective strategies to keep readers engaged. Essentially, we’re talking about using “smart marketing for a cause,” but it’s crucial to be strategic about disseminating our vital content in today’s competitive information landscape.
Our audience is growing increasingly discerning towards content that exaggerates the significance of issues, fabricates novelty, and exploits emotions for engagement. HuffPost can differentiate itself by being truthful, transparent, and maintaining high journalistic standards.
In an era where traditional, billionaire-owned publications are bowing to power and softening their coverage, HuffPost will be bold, straightforward, and honest. Moreover, HuffPost will continue to offer a counterbalance with Life, Voices, and Personal stories that serve as a refreshing break from the relentless onslaught of politics, culture wars, and existential debates about society’s future. In other words, living a fulfilling, happy life means taking breaks from these intense topics.
Tasty plans to challenge SNARF with engaging content and strong social connections, standing out as a prominent brand in the food entertainment industry. Being at the vanguard of culinary trends, Tasty offers captivating formats featuring adored personalities and well-known figures. Unlike many other food channels that push low-quality, manipulative content to hook viewers with unappealing or irrelevant videos, Tasty provides a reliable, enjoyable alternative. Our brand is trusted, our creators are beloved, and we cater to a diverse audience, making us a unique food brand that can maintain an audience without relying on harmful engagement bait strategies. The Tasty app will offer us a self-managed platform to boost usage and loyalty by incorporating features such as AI recipe customization, community interaction through tips and challenges, and content led by our creators.
BuzzFeed Studios plans to bypass SNARF by producing high-quality, longform videos and premium content that are shared on streaming services and platforms with discerning tastes. In just a few short years, we’ve launched 19 original movies and TV shows, as well as numerous digital series that have amassed billions of views and entertained diverse audiences worldwide across various genres. We’re committed to continuing the production of popular video formats, TV series, documentaries, films, and podcasts, while also providing opportunities for creators and talent to collaborate with us. Our audience-focused approach to content creation allows us to develop intellectual property that stands independently and outsmarts even the most sophisticated AI algorithms.
We’re aware that we’re swimming upstream as the platforms seem indifferent or clueless about content, instead relying on a dismal AI-driven recommendation system that gives SNARF an upper hand. However, I’m confident that we can still achieve success by using our human ingenuity to challenge the machine-led approach. The situation is gradually changing, and we stand to gain from the increasing dissatisfaction with the dominant platforms.
Before I depart, allow me to share some exciting news: We’re embarking on a remarkable project – developing a unique social media platform. Our goal is to cultivate an environment that fosters joy and encourages playful self-expression. This innovative platform will harness the power of AI not to control users but rather to empower them, ensuring their creativity is respected instead of exploited. I’m tired of providing guidance to tech companies on how to mend the internet; if we truly want it done correctly, we must take matters into our own hands!
I’m not able to reveal too many details just yet, but I’m genuinely thrilled because, after a long time, we’re finally taking the significant leap towards creating our very own platform.
Currently, we’re working on it in our laboratory. If you’d like to be among the first to use it, sign up below. Reach out to us if you’re interested in joining forces for potential collaboration.
Thanks, Jonah
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2025-02-11 19:26