The Algorithm and the Homogenization of Knitting

Social media … a love/hate relationship if there every was one

I recently shared a video discussing how algorithm-controlled social media has, I believe, been a primary driver behind the homogenization of knitting—simplified styles, neutral colors, and/or from just a handful of the thousands of pattern designers. In an age of content consumption, seeing everyone knit the same things gets, well, boring.

I got many supportive comments as well as some not-so-helpful comments from knitters who seemed to have (willfully) misunderstood the points I was trying to make.

But, for the sake of argument, let’s assume these critiques were made in good faith, and go through them. For science!

You’re saying the algorithm is forcing people to knit patterns they don’t actually like!

We all knit popular patterns sometimes; here’s my Weekender by Andrea Mowry, one of 15,000 projects on Ravelry

Well, no. That doesn’t even make any sense. But what I am saying is that the algorithm plays a major role in shaping your style and preferences.

Have you every looked back at something you wore when you were younger and thought, “What in the name of the Lord Baby Jesus was I thinking?”

Of course you have.

No one forced you into that monstrosity of an outfit. You LIKED it. But tastes and style change and evolve and are, of course, heavily influenced by the trends of the time period.

And by showing you the same styles from the same small subset of designers, today’s social media algorithm is doing the same thing fashion magazines and popular tv shows did when you were a teenager. On overdrive.

So, people should knit patterns they don’t like just so knitting is less “boring”?

Of course not. Everyone should knit things they like, and if you like that super popular pattern, go for it. It’s your time and your money.

My point, however, is that there are hundreds and hundreds of patterns published every year that you are simply not seeing and may actually like quite a lot if your exposure to new designers were not limited by social media algorithms.

I can think for myself! I’m not being controlled by an algorithm!

Ravelry has just 21 Cozycottagecardi projects but it’s one of my favorite recent knits!

No one is saying you can’t think for yourself. But it would be incredibly naive to believe that constantly being shown the same styles, the same patterns, the same yarn has no impact on your brain. Marketing is a trillion dollar industry for a reason.

That doesn’t mean you’re a mindless knitting zombie. It does mean that while you likely believe you’re making an informed, independent choice, the algorithm has, to some degree, convinced your brain that the options available to you are far more limited than they truly are.

Perhaps as adults we’re not as influenced by trends as younger folks, but we’re hardly immune. Especially when we’re talking about a niche community that we all like to feel we’re a part of and one easy way to do that is to knit what everyone else is knitting.

I know how to search for patterns! It’s not that hard to find new stuff, it just takes time.

Yes, and as we all know, free time is in abundance. Would you rather spend hours scrolling through Ravelry looking for something original, or grab the first pattern that you like, cast on and spend that time knitting?

Hiding the most ubiquitous designers from your browsing and search results, as I demonstrated in this video, is an easy way to help ensure you see stuff from other designers without significantly increasing your search time. If you have other strategies, great! I personally have found this option useful for me, and wanted to share it. Many people had no idea it was an option, like so many of the helpful-but-kinda-hidden search features on Ravelry.

“Blacklisting” isn’t the right word. You’re just trying to be controversial for views.

My “clickbait” title didn’t have an outstanding impact on my reach, sorry haters

“Blacklisting” is the most concise term that could be generally applied to what I am doing. I said several times that I knew it wasn’t a perfect fit, but brevity is … something something.

Do I want views on YouTube? Yes, I earn a little ad $$ and we can all use more of that. Concise, catchy titles help.

Is viewership the primary concern driving my content? No. I probably average about 300 views per video; if I were using clickbait titles to boost viewership, I think I’d be doing better than that.

If I really wanted to be controversial I would’ve titled it “How to ban Petite Knit and Andrea Mowry from Ravelry FOREVER!” or something equally ridiculous.

You’re being divisive! You don’t have to tear down designers to make your point!

Mmmm. I love pie. Controversial hot take: pie is better than cake!

Not sure I’ve ever heard anyone “tear down” someone else by complimenting their business and community-building skill and specifically saying “I have nothing against these designers,” but ok.

A few knitters hiding Petite Knit or Andrea Mowry or any other popular designer from their Ravelry results is not going to make or break them. More importantly, it isn’t a criticism of them, their talents or their patterns. They are simply examples of the most popular designers whose patterns tend to flood search results.

If you eat ice cream every day and then one day feel you’ve had too much ice cream and decide to skip the ice cream aisle at the store, it doesn’t mean that ice cream is awful, you hate ice cream, you’ll never eat ice cream again, and you hope the ice cream industry burns to the ground.

Maybe you just want to give pie a turn.