Just when you thought you could kick back for a minute and enjoy a week without any major changes to your social media feeds, well, think again — word on the street has it that a Snapchat algorithmic content feed might be on the way. This would change the flow of content you see, particularly in regards to professional accounts or brands. Worth noting is that the development of an algorithmic feed is a rumor only right now — Bustle has reached out to Snapchat for comment and will update this post if we hear back — but if it does turn out to be true, it's not exactly surprising; given that the three other major social networks out there have either already made or are in the process of making the same change, it's only to be expected that Snapchat might start thinking about it, too.
We've recently experienced similar announcements or straight-up shakeups on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, whereby our feeds have been changed from chronological to algorithmic based on a number of factors. While Snapchat users have hitherto seen messages from their followed accounts in chronological order, an unnamed source revealed to Digiday on Wednesday that an algorithm might be in the works for Snappers, as well. According to this source, the algorithmic content feed would be non-chronological and "interest" based. What this also means, like it has with the other platforms, is that it offers advertisers and brands an opportunity at increased presence and more visibility by purchasing prime spots. With around 100 million daily active users, Snapchat is understandably a pretty enticing piece of the social media pie.
If you're anything like me, your initial reaction to this algorithmic update (or any of the countless other algorithmic updates being made to various social media platforms recently) might be to resist it. To balk at it, even. Why so much change lately, yo? But the good news is we don't have to start our spiral of stubbornness and social media angst just yet.
There are a few reasons for this. First and foremost, remember that right now, this is just a rumor that has not been confirmed at this time. (Again, Bustle has reached out to Snapchat for comment and will update if any information is forthcoming.) Second, the change might not be as noticeable as we imagine it to be; in fact, thanks to the Auto-Advance feature in Snapchat 2.0, we maintain a good deal of control over our feeds. Remember how that works? As soon as you finish watching on Story, another starts to play automatically. But here's where the key factor comes into play — you can swipe to skip ahead. So, theoretically, even if a Story starts next that might not be presented in chronological order, we could always just swipe right by if we aren't interested.
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