> be me > curious how X decides who goes viral and who gets shadowbanned into oblivion > read the source code. all of it. 400,000 lines > it's a mess. it's a masterpiece. it's a threat model disguised as a social network > proceed to get 7M impressions and 7k followers in 9 days > i have *seen* the algorithm > here's how to make it your slave > X is a game > rules are secret > stakes are your visibility > you win by: > replying to replies (replyguymaxxing) > baiting profile clicks (profilevisitmax) > getting bookmarked like you're the Dead Sea Scrolls > not getting blocked or muted (instant debuff) > spacing tweets out (diversity filters will kneecap your burst posts) > every 6 hours, your tweet loses 50% of its power > decay rate is brutal > either pop off early or perish > some actions boost you: > replies > retweets > likes > bookmarks > follows after a tweet > long watch time (10+ sec = algorithmic arousal) > text read for 2+ seconds = good content juice > others destroy you: > blocks > mutes > reports > “see fewer posts like this” clicks > enjoy being invisible for 3 months > tweets don't live in a vacuum > they're judged by: > real-time engagement > pagerank-style trust > reputation graphs > safety scores > simclusters (your interest-based tribes) > content bundles (X’s version of a mixtape) > simclusters: the secret spice > you're grouped with users who engage like you > the algo doesn't care who you follow > it cares who vibes like you > proximity = identity > high cosine similarity with bangers? you *become* a banger > ranking pipeline: > 1. light ranker: says maybe > 2. heavy ranker: massive neural net, runs 1k+ features > 3. mixer: final DJ, decides who sees what > you're just a vector in a giant party playlist > reputation score = Tweepcred > starts at -128 (yes, minus one twenty-eight) > verified gets you to 100 instantly > minimum viable Tweepcred to be seen? 17 > every mute, block, or spam flag? drops it > don’t tweet in ALL CAPS > don’t have offensive words in your name or tweet > don’t link out too much > yes, there are hidden blacklist files like `adult_tokens.txt` and `offensive_topics.txt` > yes, they will throttle you into the dirt > following/follower ratio matters > follow 5000 people and only 200 follow you back? > congratulations, you're a bot now > keep it clean. aim for 1:1.67+ > shadowban? > not just a myth > there are actual labels: > spam > gore > toxicity > low quality > nsfw > "mentions person too much" > each one adds weight to your visibility coffin > blue check = permission to exist > legacy verified = bonus points > no check = enjoy clawing your way out of the void > diversity filters = anti-spam boss > prevents 1 account from dominating feeds > if you're tweeting in bursts, you’re kneecapping yourself > mix it up. space it out. variety = scrolltime = ads = profit > virality triggers: > show up in carousels > trend modules > bookmarks > pinned content > land here and you're in the algorithm’s VIP lounge > the algo uses cosine similarity to recommend out-of-network tweets > turns you and your tweets into embeddings > measures the angle between you and the bangers > close enough? you ride their wave > "become a banger by standing next to one" > realgraph = who you associate with > if high-rep people engage with you, your reach improves > your friends' friends define your fate > algorithmic nepotism > want to resurrect an old tweet? > reply to it > that reply = defibrillator > congrats, it's alive again > wanna go viral? > curse less > don’t be cringe > reply smart > get bookmarked > write something that makes them click your profile > stay relevant, stay recent > tweet formats that worked before? steal them. > final boss move? > join communities > they push your content harder > because X loves groupthink > tl;dr > the X algo tracks *everything* > every click, block, mute, and bookmark > it's not just about what you post > it's about who interacts with it > and how much X thinks you matter > reputation is destiny > read the code yourself: > github.com/twitter/the-algor… > or don’t. i already did it. you’re welcome. > now go farm some bookmarks > but do it with honor > or at least with style > algorithm bless