Build your algorithm: Phase 1

Starting today, we're rolling out the first piece of a new tool that fulfills one of Minds' core value props: To empower you to take back control of your social media.

On your newsfeed, you'll find a new prompt to "Build your algorithm." Like many of you, we're skeptical of the centrally-controlled and non-transparent algorithms that govern what gets seen on the social media of Big Tech. While these algorithms serve the purposes of keeping feeds fresh and making it easier to discover new content and creators, they come with the costs of a lack of control on the user's end and the resulting suspicion that our social media -- our windows into reality -- are influenced and shaped by biases and decisions we don't agree with.

That's why we want you in control of your own algorithm. By setting your content preferences, you decide what types of content do and don't get amplified for you. And by answering a few questions about your personal outlook on things like censorship, talking to people you disagree with, government regulation, and optimism for the future, we can better connect you to content and creators you haven't discovered yet and that may become your new favorite voices on Minds.

The launch of the "Build your algorithm" settings is just the first phase of what we have in store. For now, the settings don't take effect on your feeds while our machine-learning monkeys evolve to make your responses useful. 

As always, our code is open source and transparent. If you have feedback or concerns, we're all ears. Drop a comment, strike up conversations, or better yet, make a merge request to our codebase. We'll follow up soon with the next phase of your personalized, user-controlled algorithm.

Build your algorithm:

• Lets YOU control what content and creators get amplified for you
• Improves recommendations in your Top and Discovery feeds
• Influences which Boosts you're open to seeing
• Will not replace your chronologically-sorted newsfeed

The Minds Team

Banner photo by Dil on Unsplash