Wire engagement bait shows no signs of slowing down

But first, I can’t believe he said that.

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The big story

for you (to get angry)

They say love always wins, but even on Threads hate can get you pretty far.

Instagram’s alternative X is barely a year old, but an interesting theme is emerging in the app. The lure of engagement, especially the kind that elicits passionate reactions, is everywhere in Threads.

Business Insider’s Katie Notopoulos is no stranger to jumping headfirst into internet trends (you may be familiar with her “pizza glue“or testing a vape phone). This time, she tried supports the engagement on her Threads account with a rage bait.

Rage bait—if you’re not familiar, congratulations on not being chronically online—is content intentionally designed to generate strong reactions. Example: Should I charge my child’s friend’s parents for the date I hosted at home?

While anger bait can be found on social media, its prominence on Threads is due to the way the app promotes content. Instead of posts with lots of favorites or reshares getting top billing, the stuff with the most replies gets the biggest boost from the Threads algorithm.

And while Katie’s rage bait was an experiment, some online creators have gone all-in on increasing engagement to the top of Threads. A digital marketer Katie spoke with is looking to get a billion views on Threads in 30 days. (It’s well on its way.)

If stories like Katie’s make you angry, understand that you are part of the problem.

(No, this is not meant to be anger bait.)

Social media can be frustrating for many reasons. But a common gripe people have is the type of content being pushed at them.

The algorithms that power TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter all work differently, but the ultimate goal is the same: to keep you on their apps as long as possible.

With that in mind, there’s often something about your social media behavior that causes apps to send you those posts.

Of course, it’s not a perfect system. Just because I linger on a video about expensive pens doesn’t mean I need 15 more to explain which ink is best for a Montblanc.

Which brings us back to angry bait and why it will probably never die. People love to respond to an obviously bad interpretation. And it’s especially fun when a lot of people agree with you. “Not only are you wrong, 100 of my random internet friends are validating my opinion.”

In the grand scheme of things, rage-baiting isn’t the worst thing on social media from a great distance. And Big Tech bears most of the blame for mental health crisis social media has created.

But when it comes to the rise of anger baiting, the one worth getting upset about might be ourselves.

News summary

Top titles

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2. David Solomon of Goldman Sachs is not giving up hope of a 50 basis point cut. The bank’s chief executive, who previously said he saw no rate cut this year, now he sees a path to a jumbo cut. Solomon said the percentage chance of a bigger cut is in the 30s, thanks to a declining job market.
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1. How to turn a cold email into a VC partner gig. Kanu Gulati earned a Ph.D. in computer science and thought he would spend his career in research labs. Instead, a cold email to Khosla Ventures led to an internship studying AI and GPUs. He is now a partner at the firmwriting checks to support AI companies.
2. It’s survival of the fittest in this stage of the AI ​​race. Just ask OpenAI, which is reportedly in talks to raise billions despite already securing $10 billion last year. The race for startups to build powerful AI models seems to be on much more expensive.
3. If something happens in Taiwan, Nvidia will keep calm and carry on. Jensen Huang he doesn’t want you to worry about a possible political escalation between China and Taiwan, where Nvidia’s chips are made. “If something were to happen” there, Huang said, Nvidia could move production elsewhere.

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1. MrBeast could collapse like BuzzFeed, says one VC. YouTube star MrBeast has mastered social media algorithms to build a huge audience in no time. If that sounds familiar, it’s because BuzzFeed co-founder Jonah Peretti did the same thing. A VC investor thinks he might be dating MrBeast the same business obstacles that plagued the digital brand.
2. Warner Bros.’ A crucial cable deal just made HBO free for millions. The troubled media conglomerate I just signed an agreement with Charterone of the largest pay-TV distributors in the country, which makes the HBO Max streaming service free for Charter subscribers. Instead, Charter will continue to carry Warner Bros.’ cable channels such as TNT and Discovery.
3. The most desirable employers for business and technology students. Thousands of business and technology students from around the world have told employee branding specialist Universum where they want to work in 2024. Here’s what the business students saidand here’s what tech students had to say.

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The Insider Today Team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, Editor-in-Chief, London. Milan Sehmbi, colleague, in London. Amanda Yen, colleague, in New York.