One good post from a new account can reach 500 million people
Algorithms, not followers, now decide what becomes the day's global newspaper.
Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy · Everything in Capital Markets is Downstream of AlgorithmsA new account can write one good post and be shown to 500 million people, says an investor who spends his days talking with founders and the capital behind them.
He describes the old system this way. A writer spent years building a big audience, and then even a dull update would become popular because that audience saw it.
Now, he says, computer software selects which posts get wide display. He compares the result to a single global newspaper that everyone reads and that anyone can post to.
He calls posting the last great meritocracy, while hedging that it is meritocratic in a weird way and in some ways more than before. He also calls the new system lotteryified, meaning one strong entry can win wide reach while most do not.
Questions people ask
How does the algorithm decide which post wins?
They track how people respond in the first minutes and hours, including taps, replies, shares, and how long people pause. Posts that hold attention get shown to more people, and posts that get ignored disappear, so the system is constantly testing and expanding the audience.
Do followers still matter at all?
They help, but much less than before. A large following still provides a base audience that can react early and signal quality, yet a new account with a stronger post can pass an established account because distribution is decided post by post.
In what sense is posting a meritocracy?
He means that anyone can enter and quality alone can break through, without credentials or bosses. In practice it is meritocratic at the entry point, though luck, timing, and writing about topics the system already favors still shape who keeps winning.