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BuzzFeed announced that it’s building its own social media platform that will leverage the company’s brands, human curation, and AI to deliver a positive online experience.
The Big Picture: BuzzFeed co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti’s ambition is to fight back against the algorithm-powered, addictive, and negative nature of the dominant social media platforms… which he says have prioritized user engagement over user well-being. Considering the financial straits that BuzzFeed has been experiencing lately, the platform is a big swing at reinvention.
Behind the Platform: BuzzFeed’s social platform is reportedly called “BuzzFeed Island” and is “designed as an oasis from algorithm-driven doomscrolling,” according to a blog post written by Peretti.
- That’s because human curators will “do the doomscrolling for you” and curate content that’s allegedly both truthful and free from the hyperbole of the current media landscape.
- But it’ll also include AI tools for “creative purposes,” including “interactive storytelling and new content formats,” per TechCrunch. (BuzzFeed has recently undergone an AI makeover over the past year.)
- The platform will leverage its various brands for specialized content, including HuffPost for news, Tasty for food and lifestyle, and BuzzFeed for premium long-form video.
- Join the waitlist here. BuzzFeed is testing the platform with select users before rolling out the final version at an unspecified date.
The Future: Peretti’s blog post reads more like a manifesto, calling out TikTok and Meta for engaging in what he calls “SNARF” — surfacing content that traffics in “Stakes, Novelty, Anger, Retention, and Fear” to keep people hooked on their platforms. And this isn’t good hooked — it’s allegedly an addiction fueled by negativity. That wasn’t always the case for social media, but Peretti says that platforms are now serving users “crack and fentanyl” rather than the original “beer and wine.” Users would love to quit but find it culturally challenging to do so.
If BuzzFeed is somehow successful in making the internet a brighter place (while still delivering the news), then it could help reshape every aspect of society that’s become ruled by outrage and sound bites.
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