The idea of a “Human Algorithm”

The problem

‚Social‘ media such as LinkedIn (and search engines such as Google) are ‚driven‘ by technical algorithms. These control (filter) who gets to see what content.

As a consequence, if you want your message to be seen, you have to write primarily for the algorithm. The actual recipient is being pushed to the background.

A possible solution

(As an add-on) we want to bring “real people” (back) into the game of evaluating content and manually forwarding it to personal contacts who find that content valuable and should know about them.

People cannot keep up with technology when it comes to the huge amount of content processed. However, they are at least equal, if not superior, when it comes to the quality of content selection and evaluation.

And even if each personal network only represents a tiny section of a platform: The phenomenon of content ‚going viral‘ demonstrates the potential of personal recommendations in terms of quantitative reach.

Here, at HumanAlgorithm.org…

  • … we are thinking (together with you) about the ‚rules of the game‘ that might make this idea work
  • … you find the latest version of of these rules
  • … we invite you to join in, and help develop them 

(we are working on a manifesto – you can find the draft here)

The invitation to you

Experiment with us, and become a “human hub”

and actively forward targeted content you find valuable for others.

You are the center of your very own personal social network, regardless of which technical platforms the people you know are using.

On the technical platforms, the operators‘ technical algorithms determine who gets to see which messages.

However, all platforms also offer you to forwarding messages directly to other users. This is where you can enter the game:

As part of the “human algorithm”, you use the technical options for direct forwarding

  • in a targeted manner, , i.e. with the intention of sharing with members in your network messages that are of value to them. Our ‚rules of the game‘ serve as a guideline to ensure this “value creation“
  • active, i.e. consciously: whenever you come across a message that brings to mind someone who would also find it valuable.
  • selectively, i.e. you value quality over quantity

The two 'rules of the game'

The most important resource you bring as part of the Human Algorithm is your power of judgment. Use it well. Quality is key.

The first rule of the game therefore focuses on the qualitative dimension of the Human Algorithm:

Rule #1: Be threefold picky

Your task as a “hub” is to evaluate two qualities: the content of the message, and its relevance for the recipient to whom you could forward it.

So before you forward content, make sure that:

  1. it is “good in terms of content”, for example because it contains stimulating, relevant, informative, useful or other valuable content (your assessment of the contribution).
    This, of course, also includes ensuring that the content does not contain anything misleading, false, discriminatory, hateful or otherwise unethical.
  2. it is “relevant” to the selected recipient (your assessment of the content-recipient ‚match‘).
  3. If content passes both tests, then forward it to a maximum of five (5) recipients. This rule shall also help you to consciously handle the two qualities above.

Don’t just do good, but also talk about it

The second resource that you bring as part of the Human Algorithm is your reach.

The impact of the Human Algorithm naturally grows with the number of hubs.

That’s why the second rule of the game focuses on the quantitative dimension of the Human Algorithm:

 

Rule #2: Mark every redirect with our hashtag

  • When you forward content guided by these rules, use the hashtag #humanalgorithm to mark your initiative. This has two effects:
    • The hashtag is a “quality label” for your recipients. It signals that the forwarded post has gone through your triple quality filter and thus highlights it (qualitatively) for the recipient.  
    • At the same time, you make other people aware of the idea, which allows the human algorithm to develop further.

Actively invite others to join in (and join the discussion)

  • If you recommend a piece of content to others in your network, add a link to our website humanalgorithm.org to invite others to join in and think about how the intended effect can be achieved.
  • The invitation could, for example, take the form of a signature at the end of your forward. Here is a sample:
    I forward this content to you because I suppose you will find it relevant and valuable. I followed the rules of an initiative that wants to bring humans (back) into the game. I invite you to also take a look at this idea: humanalgorithm.org

What do you think?

Join the discussion here (Miro-Board)

What could be improved? What should we add?

By the way

These rules, of course, only apply to third-party content you are forwarding, and not to your own content that you created yourself.

However, regarding your own content, you may hope that another “human hub”, applying the ‚rules of the game‘ as part of the human algorithm, reaches the conclusion that your post is valuable for someone in his or her social network and forwards it… 😎