Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture

by Kyle Chayka

It’s harder for a creator to go straight to making a movie or publishing a book; she needs to first publish her sample material, describe her vision, and gather an audience online who are engaged fans of her work. A book, for example, must first make for good tweets and then provide the material for good essays prompting public dialogue, perhaps inspiring a follow-up or an op-ed. Readers must retweet her thoughts and share pull quotes on their Instagram stories. An agent must notice the burgeoning momentum and sign the nascent author. Then finally, perhaps, a publisher will consider her manuscript—if she has accrued enough of a “platform,” that is, high enough numbers of social media followers and an ability to influence the content stream. (The choice of word is telling: people are platforms, too.) Once the book sells to a publisher and debuts on bookstore shelves, the author leverages that platform, tweeting to her fans, posting images of the cover, holding it up in a TikTok video—driving attention to its launch in as many spaces as possible. (The same will be true for this book by the time you are holding it, at least if I’m effective at it.)