The Social Dilemma · 2020 — 第 3 / 14 章 · 2'26" · C1

Tech Insiders Explain the Growth Dials, Explained:dial up the ads

On the surface, a speaker who was at Facebook explains how data becomes a model that predicts behavior. Underneath, it's an argument about power: the feed isn't tuned for you but to keep numbers rising, and the people running it can “dial that as needed.”

あらすじ

A speaker walks through what platforms do with user activity: the clicks and videos feed a model that predicts behavior, and the model decides what will keep someone watching. The explanation then turns to the three goals inside tech companies — engagement, growth, and advertising — and the idea that insiders can “dial that as needed.”

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注目の表現

misconceptionbusiness interestpull back ontend to trigger

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このシーンの表現

misconception

a common wrong belief

At the start, someone corrects a common assumption: people think their data is being sold, and this line sets up the misconception.

People have the misconception that cats ignore you on purpose.

このシーンの他の表現

  • business interest

    commercial advantage

  • pull back on

    reduce or scale back

  • tend to trigger

    tend to set off your emotions

  • squeeze in

    fit something into a tight schedule

  • drive up your usage

    push usage higher

このシーンのメモ一覧

31 行のセリフに 25 件のメモ

表現 · B2have the misconception that...

to hold a common wrong belief

People have the misconception it's our data being sold.
表現 · C1in someone's business interest

commercial advantage

The next line explains that handing over data would not serve the company's commercial advantage, said as plain fact.

It's not in Facebook's business interest to give up the data.
表現 · B1give up something

hand over or surrender data

It's not in Facebook's business interest to give up the data.
文法 · B2to give up the data

dummy subject: It is a dummy subject; the real subject is the infinitive phrase to give up the data.

It's not in Facebook's business interest to give up the data.
発音not in

In fast speech not in blends together; let the t pass lightly into in.

It's not in Facebook's business interest to give up the data.
発音do they

Do they is usually reduced; don't give both words full stress.

What do they do with that data?
表現 · B2predict someone's actions

forecast what we will do

They build models that predict our actions, and whoever has the best model wins.
文法 · B2whoever has the best model wins

subject clause: The whole whoever-clause is the subject: the person with the best model is the one who wins.

They build models that predict our actions, and whoever has the best model wins.
表現 · C1average session length

typical time spent in one session

Nearing the end of his average session length.
スラング · C1ad load

amount of advertising shown — Industry jargon for ad density; too technical for casual chat.

Decreasing ad load.
表現 · B2pull back on something

reduce or scale back

A scrolling session slows near the average session length, and the system begins pulling back on certain content.

Pull back on friends and family.
発音All of the

All of the can blur into one unit, with of reduced to a light vowel.

All of the things we've ever done, all the clicks we've ever made, all
表現 · B1keep someone doing something

make you continue watching

Where you'll go. I can predict what kind of videos will keep you watching.
表現 · C1tend to trigger someone

tend to set off your emotions trigger means to set off an emotional reaction, not to pull a gun

I can predict what kinds of emotions tend to trigger you.
スラング · B2epic fails

spectacular failures — Internet slang for joking about public mistakes; avoid it in formal writing.

The most epic fails of the year.
表現 · B2squeeze something in

fit something into a tight schedule

After a video test works, someone says 'Beautiful' and plans to slip a sneaker ad in before the next clip.

Beautiful. Let's squeeze in a sneaker ad before it starts.
表現 · C1drive up something

push usage higher

The film turns to company goals, starting with engagement: pushing usage up and keeping people scrolling.

There's the engagement goal: to drive up your usage, to keep you scrolling.
表現 · B2as much X as possible

the maximum amount of money

And then there's the advertising goal: to make sure that, as all that's happening, we're making as much money as possible from advertising.
文法 · C1as all that's happening

time clause: As introduces a simultaneous background: the money is made while all the rest is happening.

And then there's the advertising goal: to make sure that, as all that's happening, we're making as much money as possible from advertising.
表現 · B1figure out what to do

work out or solve

The explanation links each goal to algorithms whose task is to work out what to show next and keep the numbers rising.

whose job is to figure out what to show you to keep those numbers going up.
文法 · B2whose job is to figure out what to show you

relative clause: The whose-clause attaches the job to the algorithms mentioned just before.

whose job is to figure out what to show you to keep those numbers going up.
表現 · C1dial something as needed

adjust something whenever needed the dial is a metaphor for adjusting growth metrics

We often talked about, at Facebook, this idea of being able to just dial that as needed.
表現 · B2dial up something a little bit

increase the amount of advertising dial up means increase, not call

"Let's dial up the ads a little bit."
発音a little bit

In fast speech the t in little is light; let the phrase glide.

"Let's dial up the ads a little bit."
表現 · B2a level of precision

degree of exactness

And so, that happ-- I mean, at all of these companies, there is that level of precision.

「Tech Insiders Explain the Growth Dials」を読み解く

What's really going on

The scene reframes the product as prediction. Data isn't the commodity, the model is: “whoever has the best model wins.” The user experience is treated as a set of levers — “Pull back on friends and family” when a session is running long, then “squeeze in a sneaker ad” — and the moral distance sits in the language. Nobody says manipulate; they say dial. The calm, precise vocabulary is the point: “there is that level of precision.” What gets described is tuning at will: turn a number up when a goal needs it.

Theme

PowerWhoever holds the dials can turn what users see up or down on demand.
MoneyAdvertising sits alongside engagement and growth, with the aim of making “as much money as possible.”

発音のポイント

  • not in — In fast speech not in blends together; let the t pass lightly into in.
  • do they — Do they is usually reduced; don't give both words full stress.
  • All of the — All of the can blur into one unit, with of reduced to a light vowel.
  • a little bit — In fast speech the t in little is light; let the phrase glide.
They build models that predict our actions, and whoever has the best model wins.

The value isn't the data itself but the model built on it: whoever predicts behavior most accurately has the edge.

I can predict what kinds of emotions tend to trigger you.

The model is built to predict which emotions are likely to provoke a reaction in a person.

Beautiful. Let's squeeze in a sneaker ad before it starts.

An ad gets forced into a gap in the session. "Beautiful" frames the placement as craft rather than as an intrusion.

We often talked about, at Facebook, this idea of being able to just dial that as needed.

People at Facebook talked about adjusting things like a dial whenever needed — turn a number up when a goal calls for it.

このシーンについての質問

Why isn't the company's product the data itself?

Because the value comes from the model built on that data. One line puts it plainly: “They build models that predict our actions, and whoever has the best model wins.”

What happens when a session nears its average length?

The sequence goes from slower scrolling and the end of the average session to “Decreasing ad load,” then “Pull back on friends and family.”

What are the three goals the speaker lists?

Engagement (drive up usage and keep you scrolling), growth (keep you coming back and inviting friends), and advertising (make as much money as possible from ads).

What do the "dials" refer to?

Controls that can be turned up or down on demand — “Turn the dial,” “Let's dial up the ads a little bit,” “Dial up monetization, just slightly.”

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