YouTube uses an algorithm to feed the user videos that they might like. Of course the goal is to keep you on YouTube as long as possible to feed you the most advertisements possible. I started to call this algorithm, curation, but the definition of curated is: “carefully chosen and thoughtfully organized or presented.“ While this may be what YouTube is doing on one level, it is more than a little nefarious on another.
As long time readers will know (ad nauseam) that I am studying Spanish. As part of this journey I subscribe to various YouTube channels for learning Spanish and others in Spanish for their entertainment value. So now the YouTube curation algorithm feeds me videos in English and Spanish.
A while back, for reasons unclear to me – perhaps it figured out that I am old and male, it fed me a video from an urologist. The video captured my attention as the presenter was a very attractive young female who turned out to be a M.D. in the field. Being a man of a certain age, urological topics have a bit of an interest for me. Then you add in the mujer linda, and I just had to click. Bad move on my part. Now YouTube is feeding me tons of videos dealing with urological topics. However, what really floored me was that it was also feeding me urological videos from urologists in Spanish speaking countries… in Spanish.
Everyone is concerned with Big Brother being the government, for my money, Big Brother is here and he is the personification of these huge technology companies coming after your wallet and your mind.
And yes I know it is possible to erase your YouTube history and start fresh. Or for that matter simply turn off their algorithm. But then how would I find videos of a pretty young urologist preaching to me about urological measures I should be following?
And so it goes in La Casa de Viejos.