Geoff Wolf, EVP Client Strategy
“Facebook Inc. is largely ruled by algorithms. But ultimately people must make judgments about what to show its 1.6 billion users and how.”
-May 11, 2016 Wall Street Journal
People actually have something to do with what you see on Facebook – oh my! According to the article, there are “allegations that Facebook workers manipulated the ‘trending topics’ feature by suppressing conservative viewpoints.”
In light of that information, their choice of “trending topics” is especially interesting! According to this article, no two users see the same news feed or trending items because they do not want to appear too robotic. That means that editing must happen, and Facebook spends a lot of time and energy deciding what to show users.
Where an algorithm is a set of steps that are followed in order to solve a mathematical problem or to complete a computer process, I propose that a set of steps needed to solve a HUMAN problem or to complete a HUMAN process is a humanism.
In this case Facebook’s algorithms – sophisticated data models based on hundreds of thousands of data points – need a manual assist from humanisms to become more authentic.
The intersection of these two functions is fascinating, so let’s look at a few more examples.
For many years, IBM thought that it was in the business of making office equipment or business machines. Reporting algorithms told the story of what products were selling, but it took a human eye to read what was behind the data. The real value that they were offering was not simple machinery but rather processing information. It was only after that insight surfaced – at the intersection of algorithms and humanisms – that they began to navigate with a clear vision of their marketing objectives.
And yet a third place where algorithms and humanisms intersect just made the headlines: Victoria’s Secret announced it will stop mailing catalogs. After mailing as many as 350 million catalogs annually with up to 22 mailings a year to some customers (the profit generated by the catalog being judged by algorithms) Victoria’s Secret will just abruptly cease mailing out its catalogs of scantily clad models (the humanisms its customers are interested in).
Victoria’s Secret parent company, L Brands Inc., has stated that strategic changes included “evolving how the business connects with customers through more focus on loyalty programs and brand-building engagement rather than traditional catalogues and offers.”
Loyalty programs and brand building are best built, judged and measured by humanisms. The cost (read: loss) to mail a catalog is judged by algorithms represented in terms of a bank account.
Here is the question: Is your catalog circulation plan or are your search keywords driven by elements of purchasing behavior around buying a product/service, or are they tied to human behavior itself?
To answer this questions, both “isms” discussed above must be used together to discover:
1) A clear understanding of what you are really selling.
2) If you are targeting people who need or want what you are selling versus a customer record represented by an algorithm.
Here’s wishing you many happy “isms” in your future.
How well do YOU understand the intersection of humanisms and algorithms in your marketing plan? We can help decipher both! Reach out to geoffw@jschmid.com, or call 913-236-2401.
