Title: Social Media Scrolling Virality Addon 60 V2 — LearnCoachAssist

Q: SM: What is a “candidate set” in feed ranking?
A: The shortlist of posts/videos retrieved for you before final ranking decides what gets shown next.

Q: SM: What is “retrieval” in recommendation systems (simple)?
A: The step that quickly finds potentially relevant items from a huge catalog before more expensive ranking.

Q: SM: Why do platforms use multiple stages (retrieval → ranking)?
A: To scale: retrieval narrows billions of items to thousands; ranking then scores the shortlist more precisely.

Q: SM: What is a “feature” in ML ranking models?
A: An input variable used to predict outcomes (e.g., your recent watches, video length, creator relationship).

Q: SM: What is “label leakage” (high level) in ranking experiments?
A: When a feature indirectly includes future information (or the target itself), making offline results look great but failing in production.

Q: SM: What is “proxy gaming” in social algorithms?
A: When creators optimize for a measurable proxy (watch time) in ways that don’t improve true value (satisfaction).

Q: SM: Why do platforms care about “regret” or “I didn’t want this” signals?
A: Because high engagement can still be harmful; regret signals help balance retention against long-term satisfaction.

Q: SM: What is “satisfaction gap” content?
A: Content that gets clicks/attention but leaves viewers feeling worse or misled, hurting long-term trust.

Q: SM: What is “diversity” in feed ranking?
A: Deliberately mixing topics, creators, and formats so your feed doesn’t become repetitive or overly narrow.

Q: SM: What is “novelty vs relevance” tradeoff?
A: Novel items feel fresh but may be less relevant; relevant items match known interests but can become boring over time.

Q: SM: What is “recency bias” in social engagement?
A: People respond more to recent posts; platforms incorporate time decay so new items can compete with older winners.

Q: SM: What is time decay in ranking?
A: A mechanism that gradually lowers the score of older content unless it keeps earning strong engagement.

Q: SM: What is “cohort behavior” and why does it matter?
A: People with similar behavior patterns help predict what you might like next; models learn from groups, not just individuals.

Q: SM: What is “collaborative filtering” (plain English)?
A: Recommending items liked by people who behave similarly to you, even if the content isn’t obviously similar.

Q: SM: What is “content-based” recommendation (plain English)?
A: Recommending items that look similar in content features (topic, audio, visuals, text), based on what you engaged with.

Q: SM: Why do platforms combine collaborative + content-based approaches?
A: It improves coverage: collaborative helps discover unexpected items, content-based helps when data is sparse or new.

Q: SM: What is the “Matthew effect” in creator growth?
A: Early advantages (views, followers) compound because popularity itself boosts future distribution.

Q: SM: Why do “big accounts” still have flops?
A: Distribution depends on predicted performance for each post; weak early retention or mismatch with audience can limit reach.

Q: SM: What is “audience mismatch” for creators?
A: When content attracts viewers who aren’t the intended niche, leading to low retention and worse future recommendations.

Q: SM: Why can a pivot in content niche hurt short-term performance?
A: The model and audience expectations are trained on old topics; new topics may initially get lower engagement.

Q: SM: What is “format consistency” and why does it help creators?
A: Repeated formats make it easy for viewers to recognize value quickly, improving early retention.

Q: SM: What is “packaging” for short-form video?
A: The hook, first frame, captions, and framing that make the value instantly clear before viewers swipe away.

Q: SM: Why do “before/after” videos often perform well?
A: They create a clear transformation and curiosity gap, encouraging full watch-through to see the result.

Q: SM: Why are “lists” and “3 tips” formats shareable?
A: They promise structured value quickly; viewers can forward them as helpful recommendations.

Q: SM: What is “distribution surface” on Instagram?
A: Places your content can be shown: Reels feed, Explore, suggested posts, hashtag pages, profile grid.

Q: SM: What is “distribution surface” on Facebook?
A: Places your content can be shown: Reels feed, News Feed, Pages, Groups, Shares, suggested content modules.

Q: SM: Why do hashtags often have limited impact compared to retention?
A: Hashtags can help categorization/discovery, but ranking is usually dominated by watch behavior and engagement signals.

Q: SM: What is “caption context” and why does it matter?
A: Text adds topic cues and clarity; better context can improve both understanding and distribution to the right audience.

Q: SM: What is “sound-on” vs “sound-off” optimization?
A: Designing videos to work without audio (captions, visuals) while still rewarding sound-on viewers with clear audio/music.

Q: SM: What is “thumb-stop” and why does it matter?
A: The moment a viewer stops scrolling; strong thumb-stop visuals increase initial holds and starts.

Q: SM: Why do platforms reward “session starts” for video?
A: If your content causes people to keep watching multiple videos, it can be associated with longer sessions and higher value.

Q: SM: What is “feed cannibalization” risk with too many Reels?
A: More video can crowd out other content types; platforms balance surfaces to meet strategic goals and user satisfaction.

Q: SM: Why do platforms experiment heavily with feed layouts?
A: Small UI changes can strongly shift engagement, retention, and ad revenue; experiments find what moves target metrics.

Q: SM: What is “metric myopia”?
A: Over-optimizing a single metric (like watch time) can degrade overall experience (burnout, low-quality content).

Q: SM: What is Goodhart’s law (applied to social algorithms)?
A: When a measure becomes a target, it stops being a good measure—creators/gameplay can distort the metric.

Q: SM: Why can “rage-bait” be effective in the short run?
A: It triggers comments and shares, but it can also attract negative feedback and policy limits over time.

Q: SM: What is “bridging content” for misinformation?
A: Content that seems harmless but gradually leads viewers toward more extreme or false narratives through recommendations.

Q: SM: What is “context stripping” and why is it harmful?
A: Clipping content removes nuance; it can boost virality while increasing misunderstanding and conflict.

Q: SM: Why do platforms label or reduce reach for borderline content?
A: To reduce harm at scale while allowing some speech; labels and demotion are intermediate enforcement tools.

Q: SM: What is “spam” in creator ecosystems?
A: Low-value content optimized to exploit distribution (reposts, engagement bait, scams), often filtered by integrity systems.

Q: SM: Why are “watermarked reposts” often penalized?
A: They signal recycled content and can reduce quality; platforms may prefer original uploads for a better user experience.

Q: SM: What is “content theft” and how does it affect virality?
A: Reuploading others’ work can capture distribution; it creates incentives for watermarking and disputes over attribution.

Q: SM: What is “creator economy” in one sentence?
A: A system where individuals monetize content via ads, sponsorships, affiliates, products, and platform payouts.

Q: SM: What is a sponsorship and why does it shape content choices?
A: Brands pay creators to promote products; creators may choose topics/formats that attract brand-friendly audiences.

Q: SM: Why do platforms prioritize brand safety?
A: Advertisers avoid harmful contexts; brand safety constraints can reduce distribution of edgy or controversial content.

Q: SM: What is “community guidelines” risk for creators?
A: Certain topics, visuals, or claims can trigger limited reach or removals; staying compliant protects distribution.

Q: SM: Why can adding “medical/financial” claims reduce distribution?
A: Platforms often treat regulated or high-risk claims cautiously, requiring higher trust and limiting recommendations.

Q: SM: What is “self-harm” or “harmful behavior” policy pressure in ranking?
A: Even if engaging, harmful content is often removed or made ineligible for recommendations to reduce real-world harm.

Q: SM: What is “rate limiting” in social systems?
A: Restricting how fast actions can happen (follows, messages, posts) to reduce spam and abuse.

Q: SM: What is “bots vs humans” detection used for?
A: To protect integrity by identifying automated or coordinated behavior that inflates engagement or spreads spam.

Q: SM: Why do coordinated campaigns distort “what’s trending”?
A: Coordinated likes/shares/comments can artificially inflate signals, making content seem popular and triggering extra distribution.

Q: SM: What is “trend hijacking” by creators?
A: Using a trending topic/audio to get discovery, sometimes loosely related; it works best when paired with real relevance.

Q: SM: Why can “trend chasing” hurt creator identity?
A: If you chase everything, the audience can’t predict your value; retention may drop because the niche becomes unclear.

Q: SM: What is a “content calendar” and how does it help?
A: A plan for themes and formats across days/weeks; it reduces decision fatigue and improves consistency.

Q: SM: What is a practical “two-metric” creator check for Reels?
A: Track early hold/retention and shares/saves; improving both tends to boost distribution more than vanity metrics.

Q: SM: What’s a practical way to reduce late-night scrolling?
A: Set a hard cutoff (Focus mode + charger outside bedroom) and replace with a low-stimulation routine (book, music).

Q: SM: What is “environment design” for attention?
A: Changing your surroundings (app placement, grayscale, notifications) so the default path supports your goals, not endless scrolling.

Q: SM: What is “batching” social media use?
A: Checking at planned times instead of constantly; batching reduces cue-triggered opens and context switching.

Q: SM: What is a “retention cliff” in short video analytics?
A: A point where many viewers drop at once (often due to confusion or slow pacing); smoothing cliffs improves completion.

Q: SM: What is “creative testing” for short-form video?
A: Publishing multiple variations of hooks/edits to see which version improves retention and sharing, then iterating.