Facebook Knows What You Want Before You Do

12 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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TJ Walker stopped using Facebook for a decade, then started studying stand-up comedy and performing at open mics. Within weeks, Facebook's algorithm flooded his feed with stand-up videos, suggesting it had figured out his interests faster than he'd consciously acted on them.

Chapters

I think of myself as someone who wants to improve his health, improve his mental capacities, his intellectual prowess. Facebook says, we don't care what TJ thinks he wants. We're going to keep searching until we find exactly what he really wants, and we're going to give it to him. We're going to serve it up again and again and again and again. And they kept experimenting. And you know what? I didn't look at Facebook much for about 10 years. But then about 3 months ago, I did decide I wanted to really learn about stand-up comedy. Started doing open mics here in my community, and lo and behold, Facebook read my mind. So now every single day, the world's greatest stand-up comedians ever right at my feet. Ultimize.