🧼 Give your feed a refresh: Instagram is testing a feature that lets you reset your algorithmic suggestions for your Feed, Reels and Explore sections. Head to Settings > Content Preferences > Reset Suggested Content. Note: This reset doesn’t delete anything and won’t change the ads you see.
Reset your social media algorithms
Still stuck in election season on your social media feed? Or maybe you bought one bottle of perfume and now Big Tech thinks you’re launching a beauty empire. Algorithms are smart, but they don’t know when you’re ready to get back to your regularly scheduled programming, like cat videos and memes. Here’s how to reset your feed and take control of what you see.
Start with Facebook
Goodbye, annoying ads. It only takes a minute to kick out the things you no longer want to see.
🛠️ The fix: Filter your advertising topics by going to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Account Center > Ad Preferences > Customize ads.
Now, on to YouTube
Say your family is staying with you for the holidays and your niece is watching cartoons on your YouTube account all day long. Now that’s all YouTube recommends. Delete your search history to get things back to normal.
🛠️ The fix: On the YouTube app, tap You to bring up your History. Tap the cog icon > Settings > Manage All History. At the bottom, you’ll see DELETE with a blue down arrow. Tap from the dropdown menu to delete videos from today, a custom range or all time. Click X to remove items individually, if you prefer.
Going forward, turn off your viewing history any time you don’t want those vids in your algorithm. You can set your video and search histories to autodelete, too. Now your YouTube is back to how you like it, with my video podcast at the very top. You’ll love it!
TikTok tracks your habits
TikTok’s algorithm is built to keep you on the app. Every time you like, follow or comment on something, it tells the algorithm you’re interested in a video, and more videos like it will pop up on your For You page. Disliking a video or writing a nasty comment doesn’t matter, by the way; you still kept watching.
🛠️ The fix: Reset your feed. Open your Profile in the bottom right corner then press the three lines at the top right > Settings and Privacy > Content Preferences > Refresh Your For You Feed > Continue.
Fine-tune Instagram
Google alternatives that don’t sell all your data
Google is one of the best examples of “If it’s free, you’re the product.” And its employees, business decisions, stock price, biases and preferences have a big impact on what its “products” (Smile! That’s you and me!) see when we use Google Search.
How to get cheap flights with expert Clark Howard
Money-saving guru Clark Howard is here, sharing his top-secret strategies to land the cheapest flights imaginable — and trust me, the airlines do not want you knowing these tricks. We talk about clever booking hacks, algorithms, hidden deals, and the perfect time to strike.
Another example of AI doing the work of humans: Big retailers are using AI combined with real-time weather data to time ads and discounts. Take Walmart: This year, they dropped sunscreen prices a couple of weeks early after the AI algorithm noticed rain was all over the country. Normally, inventory analysts would do this work.
700,000 people
Signed up for Bluesky in a week. The X rival is feeling pretty blue-tiful with over 20 million members and counting. Perks include feeds with custom algorithms and the option to pick your moderation filters.
Imagine stepping into an AI-powered doctor’s office - Now you can
When I saw this news, I had to share it with you. In our latest episode of “Black Mirror” comes to life, new AI-powered health care tech just dropped. I did a ton of research, so you know what it is when it pops into your hometown. And this is def a talker around the dinner table.
How to trust what you read online and tell if it's AI or human
I got this note from Ben in Texas. “Hi there, Kim. I love your podcast. You were talking about AI and I got to thinking. When I read a story online at some website, how can I tell if a human wrote it or some bot?”
🚨 All that and dim sum: Researchers dug into Communist China-owned TikTok’s algorithms and found they suppress content critical of the Chinese Communist Party. Search for “Xinjiang,” a region linked with genocide and crimes against humanity, and you’ll find only 2.3% of results are anti-China. Compare that to 21.7% on YouTube. And the cherry on top? They’re not above manipulating teens with pro-China propaganda.
Kids want to be influencers: You need to tell them about Clint Brantley (paywall link), a YouTube, TikTok and Twitch creator with over 400,000 followers. In 2023, he made less than $60,000. Shrinking platform payouts, fewer brand sponsorships, ever-shifting algorithms and that TikTok ban are sending influencers to real offline jobs.
⚡️ Not everything can be AI: Microsoft says to advertise as an “AI PC,” computers need three things: Microsoft’s AI assistant, Copilot (how convenient), a special Copilot button on the keyboard (OK, sure) and an NPU (NP‑who?). The NPU, or Neural Processing Unit, is a processor specially designed for machine learning algorithms. Will that make them work better than a regular PC? TBD.
📉 This is wild: The general feeling about the U.S. economy is gloomier today than in 2008. Oof. You can blame social media and their algorithms. Most economic news sources focus on the doom and gloom, despite the actual data. Cut down on the scrolling and spend more time with the people you love most.
Be careful before you hit “buy” on social media
I remember the first time I fired up TikTok to see what it was all about. In about 10 minutes, the darn app’s algorithms kicked into gear. On my feed, aside from people dancing all over the globe, were vids about vegetarian dishes, travel tips and golden retrievers. And you know what … it was pretty hard to put down, a total time suck. After three days, I removed it from my phone.
Is Meta's new AI art tool worth checking out?
My artistic skills don’t paint a pretty picture. That’s why I am utterly astounded by AI-generated images. Today’s AI art looks more and more like the real thing, and Meta just unleashed its CM3leon AI art tool.
Listen, we all know Mark Zuckerberg and his Meta corporation have questionable judgment and sell our data to anyone he can, but they might just be onto something here. Let’s break down the hype. By the end, I promise you’ll understand a lot more about AI art.
How to see everything Amazon knows about you
Tech giants don’t become enormous by guessing what users want or need. Behind the scenes is a complex operation of algorithms, customer information and personal data. That information must be gathered from somewhere.
Small biz tip: How to see your competitor’s website traffic
We all know that having data on competitors can support your business. But how do you find the information that you need? Tap or click here for five smart ways to make more money and find new customers.
Sometimes, the data of others isn’t exactly easy to come by. Other times, you might have the data itself, but there’s so much of it that it becomes indecipherable. That’s where this tool enters the fray. It’s a web research tool that solves both problems.
What is Hive? How to use the popular new Twitter alternative
Elon Musk has a ton of plans for Twitter. Not only does he want to turn it into “an everything app,” but he also wants to incorporate paid subscriptions. Whenever there’s change, people leave the nest. This is why many social media users are searching for the top Twitter alternatives.
Why everyone's angry at Facebook's algorithms
Why is America so angry? Listen now to find out how algorithms manipulate us.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Google TV just made it easy to find exactly what you want to watch
When Netflix started its live streaming service, it was revolutionary. Gone were the days of Blockbuster and getting DVDs in the mail. Now everything was at your fingertips. Tap or click here for seven Netflix hacks you’ll use all the time.
8 tips to get your resume past hiring bots and to a real person
If you’re a job seeker, it’s likely you heard the reports touting the record number of open positions across the nation. While it is true, you may find actually getting the job is still a challenge. Even if you are diligent in your job search and scour online job sites, send out your resume in bulk and do your best, there are times you still won’t receive a single response. It’s easy to question what’s wrong with you and your qualifications when this happens.