The algorithm updates that moved the money
An algorithm update is a change in how a platform ranks what you see, and this log covers 14 years of them, 2009 to 2023, and where the money moved after each. Fourteen years of ranking changes. Every one of them moved money from one group to another. Here's who lost and who got paid.
// FEEDS GET RANKED
· 2009 – 2016- posts in the order they were made + Top News by default
LOSTAnyone who assumed posting meant being seen.
MONEYPaying to be seen soon became the obvious option.
- reward the click + reward the minutes watched
WHENSuggested videos switched in March 2012; search followed on 12 October. Views still count, they just stopped winning on their own.
WONCreators who make things people finish. Our read: once watch time paid, making videos became a job someone could plan around.
- newest posts first + ordered by relevance
LOSTBrands that had built follower counts they now had to pay to reach. Rolled out over the following months.
- optimise for what people type + optimise for what the machine thinks they'll watch
HOWCandidate generation, then ranking (Covington, Adams & Sargin, RecSys 2016).
SCALEYouTube's product chief later said over 70% of watch time came from recommendations (CES, January 2018).
// BRANDS LOSE THE FEED
· 2017 – 2019- ads can run beside any video + stricter ad controls, mass demonetisation
WHATBig advertisers paused YouTube spend after ads ran beside extremist videos.
WONDirect brand deals, as creators went looking for money the platform couldn't guarantee. Our read.
- Pages in the feed + friends and family first
MONEYInto paid social and creators. A brand could no longer reach its own followers free, so it rented someone else's audience.
- public like counts + hidden in tests, optional from May 2021
RATE CARDPrice on reach, saves and shares. Likes are visible by default again, and still the easiest number to fake.
// THE BIG REPRICING
· 2020 – 2023- TikTok + Reels (8 Jul) · Shorts (Sep) · Moj · Josh · MX TakaTak
WHATAbout 200 million Indian users lost the app overnight.
WONShort-form everywhere, and Indian apps built around regional languages.
- track by default + apps must ask first
FACTAbout 96% of US users opted out in the first weeks (Flurry, May 2021).
MONEYCreator content never needed the tracking pixel. Our read: one of the biggest reasons influencer budgets grew.
- photos, square, from friends + video and recommendations
WHOAdam Mosseri, head of Instagram. The 2022 “Make Instagram Instagram again” backlash followed.
- the social graph + the interest graph
FACTAbout 15% of Facebook feed content was AI-recommended, with a plan to double it (Zuckerberg). Instagram rolled some changes back after the backlash.
- no ad share on Shorts + Shorts ad revenue shared in the Partner Program
WHATAnnounced September 2022. Short-form got a payout floor for the first time.
// THE PATTERN
· git diff 2009..2023What did YouTube start ranking by in 2012?
tap to flip ↻Minutes watched, not just clicks.
What did Mosseri actually say in June 2021?
tap to flip ↻“No longer just a square photo-sharing app.”
How many other apps did India block with TikTok?
tap to flip ↻58.
When did Shorts revenue sharing start?
tap to flip ↻1 February 2023.
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