This is a piece by Erin Burns that I got to see grow from its inception. Super intelligent, super thought-provoking, super transformative. Playing in Los Angeles November 12-14. Tickets available here.
BIG TECH ADVOCATE.
Let’s take a poll.. Raise your hand if you have never used Google, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok or Instagram.. Ha! Not one hand raised!
Social media, search engines, the interconnectivity of all humans on the planet! You can contact anyone in the world at any time, no one is off-limits.
It’s changed your life, hasn’t it?! There’s nothing better for the human race than what we’ve created.
Who here knows what the Algorithm is? Who’s heard of the Algorithm?
YES!!! It’s amazing isn’t it? You get to see what you want to see, you get to find what you want to find because of how it’s designed.
The Algorithm is like a string at the end of an arrow, gently gliding it towards the bullseye.. You’re able to find answers to what you’re looking for quicker than ever before, with more precision. And with 4.2 billion web pages, the Algorithm is your personal tour guide that shows you everything you want to see and nothing that you don’t.
You see, the psychology of persuasive behavior has been around for centuries, we’ve just never had a technology for it. So we really can’t cast blame on the big tech industries for the divide in our country.
You see, if you study neuroscience, you’ll find that the human brain is malleable and it morphs in shape according to what it’s shown, whether there’s an algorithm or not.
But the beauty of the algorithm of Facebook, Google, Reddit, Instagram, Snapchat, is it actually saves you your most valuable commodity, and that my friends is time.