Secrets of the Algorithm with Instagram's Adam Mosseri

Summary

Good Guys — “Secrets of the Algorithm with Instagram’s Adam Mosseri”

Podcast: Good Guys (Dear Media)
Date: November 17, 2025
Hosts: Josh Peck, Ben Soffer
Guest: Adam Mosseri, President of Instagram

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the often-misunderstood world of Instagram’s “algorithm” with Adam Mosseri, the President of Instagram. Hosts Josh Peck and Ben Soffer grill Adam on what the algorithm really is, how creators can work with it, Instagram’s approach to evolving tech, content moderation, AI, and the perks (and pains) of running one of the world’s biggest platforms. The conversation is funny, candid, and full of accessible insights for creators, parents, and anyone curious about social media’s inner workings.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Is There One Algorithm? (01:21–02:27)

• Mythbusting: Adam Mosseri clarifies that “the algorithm” is not a single, secret entity stored in a vault like the Coca-Cola recipe. Instead, it’s a complex series of codes running on servers globally, constantly developing to serve content relevance.
  • “There isn’t one algorithm. There’s lots of things we do to try to understand how interested you are in certain topics, what certain content’s about, match you with your interests…” (01:37, Adam)
• Responsibility: Adam emphasizes the team at Instagram owns the outcomes of these systems, not blaming “the algorithm” as a scapegoat.

2. How the Algorithm Changes & Influencer Paranoia (02:27–04:01)

• Constant Tinkering: Small changes happen every day, but big shifts are rare. Most drops in reach are not due to dramatic “algorithm changes.”
  • “We almost never make major changes to it. We constantly make small changes to try to improve it over time.” (02:29, Adam)
• Shadowbanning Myths: Joking about creators’ anxieties, the hosts reference “shadowbanning,” with Adam explaining that funny content still often performs best.
  • “Funny is one of the best verticals. All the data I’ve seen suggest funny. It’s funny. Still good.” (03:04, Adam)

3. Adam’s Career Journey & Company Culture (03:13–05:06)

• Adam started at Facebook as a designer in 2008 and joined Instagram in 2018 to lead product management.
• Anecdotes about the company’s early days and seeing “The Social Network” movie with Mark Zuckerberg.
• Commentary on tech compensation (stock vs. salary), and how Instagram’s team loves free swag.

4. How Content Finds Audiences (06:28–09:20)

• Content Discovery Logic: When you post, Instagram looks at your followers and people who might be interested, using a “DVD collection” metaphor—content isn’t pushed out, it’s available for anyone’s feed when they log in.
• “Audition System”: For users who don’t follow you, content is tested and if it does well in small batches, it graduates to wider distribution. (07:41–09:20)
  • “We set aside a little bit of what we call impressions or views to try things out…if it does well again, it graduates again. So it’s almost like a competition.” (08:31, Adam)

5. Interaction Rates & Civility (09:54–11:46)

• Early Engagement Metrics: It’s not the raw number of initial views but the interaction rate (likes, shares, comments) that matters.
  • “What matters is not really the number of views, it’s the interaction rates. So of all the people who saw it, how many people liked it? …That’s actually a big delta. It doesn’t sound like it, but it is.” (09:54–10:10, Adam)
• Comment Moderation: Quick commenters tend to be the most aggressive/negative; waiting helps kinder comments rise to the top.

6. Scale, Reach, and User Complaints (11:54–13:00)

• Adam frequently hears complaints about reach, chronological feed, verification, and content takedowns.
• Instagram reaches 3 billion people per month. (12:22–12:33)

7. Global Expansion & Translation Tools (17:20–18:45)

• Translate Feature for Reels: Automatic video translation into English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Hindi is expanding creator reach worldwide.
  • “…If I can explain how Instagram works and it can just show up as me in my voice with looking like my lips are saying words in Hindi, all of a sudden I can reach an audience in India…” (18:12–18:45, Adam)

8. Work Culture, Perks, and Headquarters (18:46–21:18)

• Instagram staff love swag and perks, though the post-pandemic era has brought more financial restraint.
• Fun recounting of influencer summits and free Facebook Patagonia jackets.

9. DMs, Engagement & Creator Relations (21:29–23:37)

• Adam checks his own DMs but not Instagram’s due to volume.
• The hosts joke about DM requests for birthday videos and reader confusion over name pronunciations.

10. Personal Style & Authenticity in Leadership (25:50–27:16)

• Adam and the hosts joke about Zuckerberg’s style evolution.
• Authenticity online is crucial—users “sniff out” inauthenticity.

11. Security, Spies, and Competition (27:16–28:37)

• Adam acknowledges that companies and even governments sometimes attempt industrial espionage or infiltration.
  • “I’m sure all of that happens… I think we try to take security really seriously…” (27:29, Adam)

12. What’s Next for Instagram? (28:10–30:58)

• Algorithm Tuning: A new “tune your algorithm” feature lets users actively add or remove interests, shaping what the algorithm serves them. (Currently in Reels tests in the US).
  • “This idea of shaping your algorithm is something I’m very excited about.” (30:44, Adam)
• Instagram must evolve or become irrelevant.

13. AI Talent Wars (31:10–33:46)

• The fiercest battle for talent is among AI engineers, with offers rumored in the hundreds of millions (though Adam says these are exaggerated but still very high).
• The AI field is young, experimental, and rapidly evolving.

14. Work-Life Balance, Daily Routine, and Leadership (41:22–45:46)

• Adam shares his daily routines split between wild travel, spreadsheets, meetings, and wrangling his three boys at home.
• Describes the challenge of balancing vast platform responsibility with normal domestic chaos.

15. Content Moderation for High-Profile Users (45:46–47:56)

• Content from celebrities is held to the same standards; for close-call cases, extra human review is applied.
• The team strives to balance speech and safety.

16. Platform Philosophy & Product Focus (53:22–55:25)

• Instagram does not plan to launch in-house CPG/VC arms; focus is on providing a marketing platform, not product incubation.
  • “I think in general we would rather be a marketing platform for the people…” (53:22, Adam)

17. Leadership Anxiety: Adapting to Change (55:25–57:20)

• Adam worries most about Instagram failing to adapt quickly to cultural/technological change and losing relevance.

18. Kids & Social Media: Adam as a Dad (57:36–61:09)

• Mosseri doesn’t give his young sons access to social media yet; timing depends on individual kids’ needs/maturity.

• Importance of boundaries over blanket bans; Instagram is building features to help parents control usage.

  “Every kid is different and their needs and their risks are different. I wouldn’t be surprised if I don’t feel that my three boys are ready at the same age for smartphones or for social media…For me, what matters is boundaries.” (58:23–58:53, Adam)

19. Shadowbanning Clarified (61:39–64:03)

• Shadowbanning mostly means “lower reach.” If you’ve violated rules, your content may be demoted, but you can check account status and appeal.

  “Yes, your account can have its reach limited, but you can go to Profile settings, account status and then see what’s going on…” (61:48, Adam)

• Drops in reach after off-brand or political content are usually due to audience mismatch, not intentional penalty.

20. Format vs. Topic Performance (64:06–65:49)

• Ben notes that text-based Instagram stories get more reach than any other format for him.
• Adam shares that creators experience performance differences between formats, not just topics.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We are responsible for the decisions we make and what we build that affects what people see.” (01:37, Adam)
• “There are things that are producer side oriented, but for the most part, nothing happens. When you post right away… It’s almost like a DVD added to a DVD collection and then the next person who comes into the store. It’s an option.” (06:46, Adam)
• “The people who post comments the quickest are the craziest.” (10:32, Adam)
• “We just crossed [3 billion monthly users].” (12:32, Adam)
• “This idea of shaping your algorithm is something I’m very excited about.” (30:44, Adam)
• “Failing to adapt as the world changes around us…if you don’t move quickly, someone else will.” (55:56, Adam)
• “I have the contrast between going to work and saying the wrong thing and having 50 people go in the wrong direction for a month and fighting for fifth most influential in my household…is unbelievable.” (67:56, Adam)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 01:21 — The myth of “one algorithm” and what it really means
• 02:27 — Algorithm changes: daily tweaks vs. big shifts
• 03:13 — Adam joins Facebook/Instagram; Social Network screening anecdote
• 06:28 — How content gets shown to users; consumer vs. producer logic
• 07:41 — The “audition system” for viral/unconnected reach
• 09:54 — Engagement rates, comments, moderating early haters
• 12:23 — Scale: 3 billion users/month and user complaints themes
• 17:20 — Reels translation feature and global creator expansion
• 28:10 — Tuning your own algorithm: new features and AI’s role
• 31:10 — AI engineers, compensation, and product innovation challenges
• 45:46 — How Instagram moderates celebrities and high-profile accounts
• 55:25 — Adam’s biggest worry as president: adapting to change
• 57:36 — Kids, smartphones, and parenting tech boundaries
• 61:48 — Shadowbanning explained; what really happens to reach
• 67:56 — Adam's "What Are You, Nuts?" parenting moment

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Fun Moments & Lighter Notes

• Hosts joke about shadowbanning, swag, and “strategy” for snagging extra Costco samples.
• Adam’s relatable stories about morning chaos with his kids.
• Recurring segment “What Are You, Nuts?” features gripes about breakfast battles, gym drummers, and free sample etiquette.

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Final Thoughts

Adam Mosseri demystifies the complex machinery behind Instagram’s content surfacing while offering a refreshingly human perspective—both as a platform leader and a parent. The episode balances technical insight with humor, practical creator advice, and a glimpse into life at Instagram’s helm.

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For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This summary covers the heart of the episode: how Instagram works behind the scenes, how to interpret your own reach and engagement, what’s coming next (like tuning your feed), and how one of the world’s most influential tech leaders tries to keep it real—at home, at the office, and everywhere in between. Expect laughs, real talk, and actionable advice whether you’re a parent, a creator, or simply Instagram-obsessed.

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For the full experience, queue up these highlights and enjoy Mosseri’s thoughtful candor and the hosts’ infectious banter.

Transcript

[A]

The following podcast is a dear media production. Two Jews, both big and tall. No subject too small for the Good Guys. A mother's dream. Premium podcast team. Make it your weekly routine. It's a Good Guys.

[B]

And if you don't give us five stars.

[A]

What are you nuts?

[B]

What are you nuts? Yeah, we're the good guys.

[A]

They're not the great guys. We're just the good of good of the good guys. Welcome back to the Good Guys podcast. We are sitting here with the president of Instagram, Adam Mosseri.

[C]

Hi. Thanks for having me.

[A]

Thanks for doing this. Wow, look at this, Ben. Can you believe.

[B]

It's fantastic. It's fantastic. And we've been chatting with Adam for the last 10 minutes, and let me tell you, he is much funnier than I expected. So this episode is going to be an absolute hoot. We are seven boys. We have seven boys between the three of us. Okay, Parents, over here. Good guys. Adam's another good guy and just happens to run a platform that is incredibly important to the livelihoods of all of us. So, yeah, thank you very much, Adam. Yeah, My kids. Just because of. And if you can just allow the algorithm to reach a few more people. Yeah, yeah, I would be very well.

[C]

I'm sure we'll talk about the algorithm.

[A]

Well, is the algorithm kept, like, you know how the Coca Cola recipe is in, like, a cave in Atlanta?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, it's kept like there's only one person who has the recipe, and it's like, maybe one of the Coke family. Where's the algorithm held?

[C]

So, to start, we talk a lot about. Honestly, I used to try to reframe questions like that, because there isn't one algorithm. There's lots of things we do to try to understand how interested you are in certain topics, what certain content's about, match you with your interests. It's, et cetera. But at this point, I think everyone just what they mean when they say the algorithm is the sum of all of those things. And I've stopped trying to fight that framing. I just don't want people to feel like the algorithm is some entity that has its own agency that we hide behind. We are responsible for the decisions we make and what we build that affects what people see. So I want to make sure we own that. But to answer your question for ranking and relevance. And algorithms, it is code on servers in data centers all over the world, lots of copies of the same code.

[A]

And is it changing all the time?

[C]

Every day? People often think that something major has changed in the algorithm, and they use that to explain why their reach might have gone way up or way down. But the truth is, we almost never make major changes to it. We constantly make small changes to try to improve it over time.

[A]

Oh, that you are. I feel so seen. That's me on the group chat with a bunch of other influencers. Like, when I'm having a real week, I go, they changed it, bro.

[C]

Just throw me under the bus.

[B]

I'm shadow banned.

[C]

Yeah, sure.

[B]

That's the shadow banning.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

They're not highlighting funny right now, bro.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, Funny does well. Funny is one of the best verticals I. All the data I've seen suggest funny. It's funny. Still good. But how it is.

[B]

How long have you been at Instagram, Adam?

[C]

I joined Instagram in the spring of 18. I was hired to run what's called their product management team by Kevin and Mikey, the founders. They had already been at the company, which was then called Facebook, now called meta, for about six and a half years at the time, maybe six years. But I was at Facebook for 10 years before that.

[A]

So 2008, right? Is that when you started?

[C]

July 08? I started. I was a designer. We were just a website.

[A]

The.

[C]

The iPhone, I think, had just come out, but we didn't have an iPhone app. And, you know, it was fun. It wasn't. It wasn't a bunch of kids in a college dorm. It was, you know, we had a couple hundred people in an HR department. There were some adults around, but sure, we were pretty young and trying to figure it out on the fly.

[B]

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.

[A]

Are you represented in social network? Is.

[B]

That's a good question, too.

[C]

I don't think so. No.

[A]

But you tell. You tell people. You go see that extra back there on the laptop?

[C]

That's me. That's me. The kid with the Jewfro in the back. Yeah, that's co. See it? I remember I went to see. We all went to see it together.

[B]

Actually, the day we got Facebook stock. Right. Did we get Facebook stock? We did.

[C]

Did I? Did you?

[B]

Yes. In 08. In 08, yeah.

[C]

The way the compensation is in all tech companies is stock and salary, and that's.

[B]

We.

[C]

We do that because we think it's good for the employees to have an incentive for the business to do well, not just for them to do well as individuals.

[A]

We tried to offer Olivia stock and good guys. She said no.

[C]

She's like, gave me that cash.

[A]

I don't quite see the Runway.

[B]

Olivia will offer you 25% of the company or two grand in cash. Two grand.

[C]

She said, I'll take a gift certificate.

[B]

To McDonald's juice bar Equinox or something.

[A]

But you were saying. So you, as a company, went to go watch Social Network?

[C]

We did. We all went together.

[A]

Wow. What was that like with Mark?

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was surreal. It was interesting because it's. You can't help but get distracted by what's accurate and what's inaccurate. It's almost, you know, if you've read a book and then watch the movie, and then you kind of get distracted by where it deviates and where it lines up. It was almost like that.

[A]

Right. But like, at that time, you came on after, like, Eduardo had left the company and Sean Parker was gone. The whole thing.

[C]

Yeah, Sean was not at the company. I. But, you know, we. There were some interactions back then, I think, with him. But no, it was just after that phase.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

What a time. How exciting.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, it was. It was very exciting and humbling at the same time.

[A]

When did you get on Instagram, Ben?

[B]

Probably like 2013. I. I was gonna. I was gonna ask this, so I posted memes forever. That was like my original boy with no job and girl with no job were memes. And then we pivoted over time as the platform evolved and memes sort of went away and video started to take hold. But it's funny, even to this day, if I were to post a meme, it would reach four times the amount of people than a video. Is there a way to let I know the algorithm? You can't, like, talk to it. Is there a way to train the algorithm to let them know that you no longer post that type of content, even a decade later?

[C]

Yeah, no, but. But it's not always the case that memes do better than videos. Depends on the. On the person and the content. I actually do think we should try to get to a place where you can actually talk to the algorithm. And I can talk about that more if you'd like.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

But most of the ranking system work is not actually thinking much about you and your history. It's mostly oriented around consumers. It's like, okay, here's a piece of content who might be interested in it. Let's go and find out as many people as possible who we think could be interested in it, whether or not they follow you or not. There are things that are producer side oriented, but for the most part, nothing happens. When you post right away, what happens is all the people who then log in and follow you open up Instagram later. And then we go and look at that post and everything else that was posted and then try to figure out what they might be interested in. It's not like a piece of mail that gets sent. It's almost like a DVD added to a DVD collection and then the next person who comes into the store. It's an option.

[A]

Is there like a. A checkpoint type thing in the sense of so I post something, right? Do certain things. Do you need to hit certain milestones quickly for then it. For it to be widely broadcast?

[C]

That's a great question. So there are two sides to how ranking works for organic content, so not ads. We're just talking about when you post on Instagram as a creator or as just an average folk, there's one side which is for the accounts that follow you. So everyone who's followed you, they were trying to find as many of them as possible who are interested in your post and to show them that content. So when they open up Instagram, we look at that post and all the other posts they could see and we rank them based on relevance. Half of the people who follow you might not even use Instagram anymore or not be Instagram that day. Maybe another half of those don't scroll far enough. So you're never going to reach most of your followers, even though we all would love to reach all of them. But there's that system where there's no sort of gate or minimum thing or threshold that you sort of have to cross necessarily. Then there's the unconnected side. So we try to go out and find people who don't follow you, who might love and be interested in your content. And the way that works is kind of like an audition system. So we try to make sure every piece of content gets that's public, that's trying to reach a lot of people, gets a minimum number of views, and then if it. So we set aside a little bit of what we call impressions or views to try things out like that. And then if it does really well, then we broadcast that piece of content to more unconnected accounts. And if it does well again, it graduates again. So it's almost like a competition where if it does better than everything else, continue to get promoted and promoted and promoted, which is how you can see content from very small accounts go very viral sometimes, right?

[A]

Yeah, it's interesting, right, Ben? Because like I, I'll find in general I have like the metrics for my channel, like milestone draw C. If something's at about 60,000 views in the first 10 minutes, I go, this one's gonna go.

[C]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

That's not. I go, you know what, babe? Doordash, you know, like, you know, let's treat ourselves.

[B]

Yeah, it's gonna be.

[A]

We could pay and we won't do pickup. We'll do delivery. Y. You know, we'll do the charges. But then if I see it, like, teetering at 15, you know, 20,000, I go, this one, I just know it's not going to make it.

[C]

Yeah. So that's. That's often true that early on you can get a sense for how something's going to do. But what matters is not really the number of views, it's the interaction rates. So of all the people who saw it, how many people liked it?

[A]

Right.

[C]

Of all the people who saw it, how many people sent it to a friend? And what you're getting a sense for in those first, you know, in that first hour is what that rate is because you're like, all right, 60,000 views. It's doing better than the average thing I did for the. But what's really happening behind the scenes is maybe your average post has like a 5% like rate, and this one had a 6% like rate or 1% comment rate. So one out of 100 people commented on it. This one had 1.1. That's actually a big delta. It doesn't sound like it, but it is. Yeah. And you're seeing that start to get picked up in the ranking system. But don't overreact. I'm finding here one small thing. The comments. We're trying to make sure there's civil as possible. People on the Internet are not always as civil as we would like. I strongly ask anybody who struggles with mean comments sometimes to just give it a minute before you get in there, because the people who post comments the quickest are the craziest. And if you just wait an hour or two, normal people tend to sort of drown out the wild. And so just give it a minute. Don't. Don't get on there in their comments in those first hour. I feel like that's the. That's not the best.

[A]

And will some of those. Will the filter catch some of those within the first hour?

[C]

Yeah, but there's things that are not allowed which will get caught, but then there's things that are allowed, but they're just mean.

[A]

Yeah, we're aware.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. And then normal and nice comments will just push those mean comments way down over time. But there's a correlation between how quickly you comment and how tough you can Be as a commenter.

[A]

Turns out I have a gift for finding the mean.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

Go look for it.

[A]

Oh, yeah. Interesting. Yeah. What are your comments like?

[C]

So there's a couple. There's a lot of mad about reach. Okay, give me back Chrono feed. It's my birthday. All I want for my birthday is a blue check mark. People being upset about having some piece of content taken down or feel like they're shadow banned or someone they care about has. But look, that's part of the job. You're gonna. If you're responsible for a platform that so many people use and rely on when things don't go their way, even if it's a small percentage of people, it's a lot of Still a lot of people.

[A]

Billion. 2 billion.

[C]

3.

[B]

It's only 7 billion people in the world.

[C]

3 billion people a month.

[B]

It's unbelievable.

[C]

We just crossed that.

[B]

Yeah, it's unbelievable.

[C]

Yeah. I don't know how to remember.

[B]

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And I have noticed. So all of my. Like, three years ago, I pivoted hard into cooking. All of my content now is recipe reels. They're doing better than really any content I've ever posted over the last decade, aside from memes. So I clearly found my niche. But I think that the Translate piece is making the reach even higher.

[C]

It is.

[B]

Obviously that would be. It would become relevant to people outside of the US So it makes sense. But would you recommend always turning that on? Like, are you guys prioritizing that or just naturally will feed into more circles because people are understanding what you're saying.

[C]

Exactly. It's the latter. So it will help with reach more and more over time because we're still getting. We're still new to this. So for those of you who don't know, when you post a reel on Instagram, you can have it translated automatically into the four languages that we support are English, Spanish, Portuguese and Hindi, which, by the way, cover up. Cover the majority of users because India and Brazil are massive, massive countries for us. And then obviously Spanish is spoken in a lot of countries.

[B]

I told you, Josh. India, India, Joshua.

[C]

Our biggest country.

[A]

I know. You should look at my DMs. Yeah, it's almost primarily Delhi, but you.

[C]

Might not know how to speak the language. Right. And so if I can explain how Instagram works and it can just show up as me in my voice with looking like my lips are saying words in Hindi, all of a sudden I can reach an audience in India who speaks Hindi and doesn't speak English, which, by the way, is only about half of India because there's maybe 26 official Indic languages at this point. There's many, many more that are actually spoken on the ground. So the whole idea here is to help creatives reach audiences and find fans across language barrier.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

What's the Instagram perks looking like? Is there an Instagram pj? What are we talking about to be places you're not flying? Spirit. Come on.

[C]

I'm a united guy. United, yeah. When the PJs brought San Francisco. We don't have. We don't have one. Mark. Mark, I'm sure has a plane, but the rest of us do not, which is good, I think. No, the perks are. I mean, look, it's a wonderful place to work. They take really good care of us. I. I laugh when you first said perks, because I think of the team. They love swag. They love, like, is swag, swag, swag, swag. And I'm like, why? Why do you want another shirt with, like a logo on it? Like, they just can't. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter who you are. People love a free T shirt and they love a free mug.

[A]

One of your great employees who I've known for 20 years, Justin Anthony.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

One of the greats.

[C]

He's a sweetheart.

[A]

He and I started our careers together. He was like a talent executive, Nickelodeon, when I was 14.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And he's always championed me. And when he moved over to Instagram, it just felt natural. And so he had like a summit for creators years ago and brought us up to the headquarters and was like, come over, come see. I mean, was the Facebook headquarters created by the people who did Disney or Downtown Disney or is that a myth?

[C]

No, no, it wasn't. It was the. Did you go to the campus that was right on the. Like, it's by this sort of like salt flats, by the. Near. Kind of a water body. Body of water, maybe.

[A]

I mean, it had everything.

[C]

What year was it?

[A]

This was probably 2018. 2019.

[C]

Oh, yeah, yeah. So it would have been classic campus. Yeah, it was like an headquarters. It was like an old Silicon Valley company headquarters.

[A]

It was sick. Like, ice cream shop. Unbelievable. Like, five different places to eat food. But the best part was he took me and the other influencers and let's be honest, we love free stuff. He said, come to the. Come to the company store. I got a Patagonia. I said, I can have this. He does whatever you want, Josh. I said, this is Patagonia. This is high end material and it's got a nice. And it had the Facebook patch right at the bottom.

[C]

So tasteful.

[A]

It was very tasteful.

[C]

It wasn't just like on your. On Your chest just. Yeah, the book.

[A]

Too much.

[C]

That's good. That's good. It's. It's not quite as Disneyland as it used to be. I think once, you know, through the pandemic and then 2022 and the market contraction, we've started to try to be much more judicious in our expenses. So it's not quite the, the, the wildness that it was, which I think is also good. But it's still a wonderful place to work. I'm not trying to complain at all.

[B]

I was just gonna say, speaking of working for Instagram, I think it's the perfect time. I worked in media for a decade before doing what I'm doing and I actually DM'd. I looked back, I DM'd the Instagram account.

[C]

Oh, nice.

[B]

Read it to you. I DM'd the Instagram account in 2019. I wrote hey, long shot. But I saw a job at Instagram that I was incredibly intrigued by. I was wondering if you could possibly connect me with someone in recruiting to talk about it.

[C]

Did you just go on red? It just ghosted you.

[B]

No one ever read it. No one ever read it. And let me tell you, this was, this was very talented. Ben. Yeah, formerly at VaynerMedia. Very, very excited to work at Instagram. And thank God it didn't happen because my, my life turned out great, but I wanted to work at Instagram so badly. Does Instagram check its DMS?

[C]

I check my DMs, but I don't check that Instagram. I'm pretty sure someone does, but there's a lot. There's almost 700 million people follow that account. So it's more DMS I think, than people can get to. I do. I go into my requests folder every week. Yeah, I think it's good to get a sense for what is on people's minds, what's frustrating people lately. I always respond to a handful, which usually freaks them out. And course sometimes I find like important people in there that didn't even know like for that had messaged me and I like missed it. And so I'm trying to get better at that.

[A]

I've been recently, people will. I'm kind of on an anti cameo kick because I don't know, I don't want to pay them a vig for my likeness. But you know, shout out, cameo. But so now if people DM me, I will. I'll just answer them and I'll do the request. Like if they ask for a birthday shout out, I'll be like, you don't have to pay me. I'm just happy to do it because this way I can do one every couple days and feel. Feel good about it. This one girl, you tell me if this is nuts. She's very nice. Hello, Josh, my best friend. We love you. Blah, blah, blah. She's like, will you wish her?

[C]

This does not sound like my DMs. No one has ever been like, hello, Adam. I love you. So happy you're doing such a good job.

[A]

You should. You should be waiting on the kids show.

[B]

There's also the side of it where they call us fat, vicious pigs. Tell us how. Tell us how much they hate Jews. Okay, there's that side of it, too.

[C]

But there's plenty of that. I get plenty of that, too.

[B]

Yeah, you gotta love it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

And so she says, can you give me a birthday video for my friend? And the friend's name is C, L, E, I, L, A.

[C]

C, L, E, I, L, A. Yeah.

[A]

This is a smart guy. So let's see. Let's see.

[B]

Clela Clayla.

[A]

Okay. I write her back. Sure. How do you pronounce her name? How do you just write that name? With due respect, beautiful name. But you don't just write.

[B]

Is it. Is it a beautiful name?

[A]

If there's a silent C, you know, you lead with that.

[C]

You know, it's a silence.

[A]

No.

[B]

Oh, it's Layla.

[A]

No, I asked her. So then she sent me a voice message. You say it like Clelia.

[C]

Oh, that would never.

[A]

No one's getting that.

[B]

No.

[A]

So I sent a video. I told her friend what was up. What's up?

[B]

It's Josh Peck.

[A]

How are you?

[B]

Don't look at this.

[A]

People right here.

[B]

What can you do?

[A]

Just wanted to wish you a happy birthday. Your best friend Luisa asked me to do this, so thank her. And also, tell your friend. She wrote me your name, and it's beautiful. Not, you know, slightly exotic, like I never heard it before. And she was like, oh, just. Can you wish my friend Clelia a happy birthday?

[B]

And I wrote her back.

[A]

I said, can you tell me how to pronounce it? Because this could have been Happy Birthday, Kia or Happy Birthday, K. Like, it just would have been. I'm not a smart man, but you're a smart person, and you're a wonderful person, and I hope you have a wonderful birthday. You're. You're.

[B]

You're nuts. And I love the way that you.

[C]

Code switch. Hello, it's Josh. Hello.

[B]

How are you?

[C]

Hello. How are you?

[B]

Hello. Hello, Kila, It's Josh here? I'm.

[A]

I know. I hate my voice, but you know what I'm saying? I really aired out the baggage for her friend Luisa, but.

[C]

Shut up. I think it's great, because if you get one that's that long, it's just. It's more. There's more goodness in it.

[A]

It's committed.

[C]

Do you. No one has ever asked me to wish one of their friends a happy birthday.

[A]

But you're open to it?

[C]

Oh, I would definitely say hearts and.

[B]

Minds, you know, but you're open to it.

[A]

Is there. You know, obviously, Mark is in his Zuckerberg. He's in his oversized shirt era. Are there moments where you could be, like, really gonna wear the chain on the outside? Mark, can you have that shorthand?

[C]

I mean, I think it's good. I think it's good for him to lean into his own style and figure out how he wants to express himself. I've definitely had a chain out at times, so I can't be throwing shade at that. All right, all right. But I don't know. I just feel like for a long time, it was a very focused uniform. It was, like, you know, jeans and Adidas sandals and a gray T shirt. So I'm glad he's exploring a little bit more on the fashion.

[B]

I. I love it. I think it humanizes him. Like, for so long, you were like, who is this guy? And, like, the second he started doing that, you were like, oh, oh, he's. He's him. He's him with the T's and the. It's like, I think he's a real guy.

[C]

You gotta be you. You sure. If you're showing up online, obviously you want to be thoughtful about how you show up, but if you're inauthentic, people can sniff it out, and people hate that. And so you have to find something authentic to tap into. And then if people like it great enough, they don't. That's also okay. But if you're trying to hide something or pretend to be something you're not, I think people can smell that. And so I'm just like, look, you know, you be you. Whatever you're into, I think it's good to figure out how to find a piece of that that you feel comfortable sharing. If you're trying to share online in the first place.

[B]

Place.

[A]

I. I feel comfortable asking this now that it's technically also an American company. But, like, is there ever a fear that, like, maybe there's, like, a spy from TikTok or, like, there's, like, Someone from another social media company who's trying to.

[C]

Like, I'm sure all of that happens. That definitely happens. Oh, yeah. I'm sure there are companies that have people go. I'm sure there's. I'm sure even governments have done it or tried to do it at times. I think we try to take security really seriously, which is why we, you know, lock down access to data in a bunch of different ways. We track everything. We're trying to be really, really careful, but at our scale, that's inevitable.

[A]

Really?

[C]

Yeah. It's wild.

[A]

So you got a couple spies out there, huh?

[C]

I'm not saying.

[A]

I'm saying.

[B]

Spying goes two ways.

[C]

No, I'm just saying that we are honest about the reason. We try to reduce the chances of anything bad happening. Wow.

[A]

So interesting.

[B]

That's amazing. I would. I would be a terrible spy. Imagine me just, like, undercover at TikTok, working for Instagram. They'd catch me. Day of Adam. What's next for Instagram? Like, what is like. Like, is there, like, something enormous on the horizon, or is there, like a. A new North Star like this? I just feel like you guys are so great at pivoting with the times and always sort of find, like, figuring out what's next. Like, what is next.

[C]

There's a lot going on right now. I think the. Well, I want to acknowledge up front that I know it's frustrating when Instagram changes. You feel like it's yours or you got used to it or you got good at it, and all of a sudden, it feels like we pulled the rug out from under you. The flip side is, if we didn't evolve, then we would be irrelevant. There's no way I would be. You'd ask me to be here today, or I'd be here today. If we didn't have stories or reels or recommendations or DMs, if we were just a feed of square photos with filters, we would have kind of fallen by the wayside, the thing. So we're always trying to evolve, but stay true to our core identity of connecting people over creativity. But the thing that I'm personally, really excited about right now is if a big part of what we do is help people explore their interests, get connected to creatives and whatever they're into, and then talk about them with their friends, I think a really interesting question is how can you more actively shape that? We talked about talking to the algorithm before, so actually, just this week, we started to test out this sort of tune your algorithm feature. It was inspired by a Meme on threads two years ago, which is called Dear Algo. So all these people were just writing to the algorithm, like, please stop showing me friends of my high school friends, kids, stuff like that, stuff that we might not actually be able to deliver on. But with some of this new technology, particularly around AI, there are opportunities now where we can both make the algorithm more human, understandable, and malleable. So with this one, what we're starting with is relatively simple. You can add things, you can see what we think you're interested in, and then you can add things that we may have missed, and you can remove things if we're wrong about things, or you can just even say, I don't actually want to see anything about whatever it is. Maybe you're just like, you know, I quit American football. I just don't want to see anything about football. You can actually do that.

[A]

Sure.

[C]

And it's pretty fun to actually go and look and see what we think you're into and then go make some corrections. And then once you do, right now it's just in reels. When you're scrolling through reels, if we showed you something that you asked for, let's say you asked for parenting advice, it would literally say with a little tag, parenting advice. So you can see that you're getting it because you asked for it.

[A]

Right.

[C]

And so this idea of shaping your algorithm is something I'm very excited about. And it's really only possible at scale over the last year or so. So we're just starting to test this with a very small percentage of people in the US to start. But I'm hoping to get that out over the next couple months.

[A]

And is it true? I've heard something to the effect of, I think Tyler Cowen was talking about this on the Rick Rubin podcast. I listen to economists. I'm well rounded. I didn't graduate high school.

[C]

But Rick Rubin's got some long pods. Long pods, yeah. He's an interesting, brilliant cat.

[A]

He's smart.

[C]

He's very smart.

[A]

And they were saying how originally the big tech companies were trying to, especially social media companies were acquiring these AI engineers and compensation packages that look like 10, 15 million dollars. Right. But now they were saying, like, it's getting to a point where of this small group of, like, true AI cutting edge engineers, these guys are, like, making hundreds of millions of dollars. Like, the offers have become so insane because someone high up at these companies can go, you know, if this person can give us such an edge on the AI of it all, like, yeah, like let's just do it. Like it's. It makes sense. Like, is that where we're getting with AI, it's just such an extreme field of upside?

[C]

Yes and no. So most of what you read about in terms of the offers are greatly exaggerated, but it still is a lot of money. So I don't want to pretend like it's not. But I think that some of these foundation models and cutting edge model work is. There's really a small group of people who's really good at it. And so there's an immense amount of competition to hire that talent, which is what's driving up the cost of hiring these people. But it's pretty wild because some of these techniques are decades old, but a lot of it are just brand new and novel, and everyone's kind of learning on the fly. So. So a lot of this talent and then there's not a lot of it overall, is also, like, really young. These are young engineers in their 20s. Yeah, a lot of them are in their 20s. Wow.

[A]

IVs still like IV kids, Ivy League kids, or maybe not.

[C]

Maybe not. I mean, some of them. It's people. It's not something you can go learn in school. So because it's so new, it's a bunch of techniques and technologies that are evolving very quickly. So it's people who are very quick learners, who are willing, who actively experiment. It's a much more scrappy type of engineer or researcher, really, than what most of the value has historically hired, which are much more like, this is the right way to build a database that serves this many millions of people over these many data centers. Or there's a right way to do it. You could write a PhD about it. This is not that there are PhDs about the research, for sure, who work in the research area, but. But the people who are building the applied stuff, it's a small group of people. They're very young, they're very scrappy. It's. It's kind of wild to see them do what they do.

[A]

Wow. Well, Ben. Ben's lost to chat GPT. We've lost Ben.

[B]

I haven't used. I. I haven't used Google in a year. I mean, it's just. It's literally. I have not used Google in a year. I have a question. It's chat GPT for sure. And I love chat. This episode of the Good Guys podcast is brought to you by our friends at Psygnos. Folks, did you know that 73.6% of US adults are classified as overweight or obese. It's not mean. It's the truth. 88% of Americans are classified as metabolically unhealthy. Global diabetes diagnoses are projected to reach 1.3 billion by 2050. I'm not here to scare you. I'm here to talk to you about Psygnos. When you eat carbs, your blood sugar rises. Your body releases insulin to shuttle that sugar into your cells for energy. But if you're insulin resistant, the sugar doesn't get used properly. It lingers in your bloodstream. That's when weight gain, fatigue and long term health risks start to build. And most importantly for me, brain fog. That's why when I eat a bagel on the podcast, all of a sudden I can't see straight. That's because my blood sugar is out of whack. And how did I learn that, folks? How did I learn that? Because of Psygnos. Psygnos packages an AI powered platform for deciphering unique metabolisms with a continuous glucose monitor or biosensor, which enables users to see how food choices, timing activity, stress and even sleep affect their bodies in real time. You get to learn what foods actually cause your blood sugar spikes so you can avoid them or maybe eat them at a time where you don't have an incredibly important meeting or incredibly important podcast where you need to be incredibly sharp. Okay, you get in the moment alerts when your glucose is rising, plus personalized suggestions like taking a quick walk. You understand the difference between physical hunger and stress eating. And most importantly, you feel more energized throughout the day and sleep better at night after taking the insights that you get from Psygnos and transferring them to your daily life. So folks, if this sounds like something that could interest you, Psygnos took the guesswork out of managing my weight and gave me personalized insights into how my body works. And I'm sure they can do the same for you with an AI powered app and biosensor. Psygnos help me build healthier habits and stick to them. Right now, Psygnos has an exclusive offer for our listeners. If you go to Psygnos S I G N O S.com you get $10 off select plans with code goodguys. That's Psygnos.com code goodguys for $10 off select plans today. This episode of the Good Guys podcast is brought to you by our friends at Function. Folks, I chose Function because it's the only health platform that gives most people never get and the Insights to start doing something about it. Inside function, you get access to test over a hundred biomarkers, from hormones to toxins to markers of heart health, inflammation and stress. For an additional fee, you can also access MRI and chest CT scans, all tracked in one secure place over time. It's a near 360 degree view to better see what's happening in your body. That's why top health leaders such as Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Dr. Jeremy London, Dr. Benjamin Safer are all behind function. Folks, if I'm behind function, you gotta take a look at this, okay? Because lab visits fast and convenient at over 2,000 locations across the U.S. it's just $4.99 a year. That's1.37 a day for advanced health insights. You literally spend 4.99 on something so much sillier than your health. You should absolutely consider this. All results are tracked over time in one secure place. So you see how your health evolves. Insights come from top doctors based on your unique results. And folks, if you tried to do this on your own, I know what you're thinking. 4.99. Ben, I can do that on my own. You can't. It would cost you ten grand. What are you nuts? Do it through function. I'm telling you folks, do it through function. And function doesn't push supplements or pharmaceuticals. It's just powerful, unbiased data designed to help you own your health. So folks, are you ready to sign up for function? Of course you are. Because it's absolutely fantastic. I love it. I got my biomarkers checked. I found out what I was deficient in. You're going to find out what you're deficient in too. You're going to optimize. You're going to a supplement. You're going to become the best version of yourself. Learn more. Enjoying using our link functions in your 360 degree view to see what's happening in your body. And the first thousand people get a $100 credit towards their membership. Visit functionhealth.comgoodguys or use gift code goodguys100 at signup to own your health. That's functionhealth.comgoodguys rings like or is it called the Ring or Instagram Rings?

[C]

Rings. Just Rings.

[B]

The award show.

[C]

Just rings.

[B]

Rings. Rings.

[A]

Rings.

[B]

Josh, you've heard of rings?

[A]

No. What is this? Another award I'm not nominated for?

[B]

Yeah. Ring. Well, we need to find out how we get nominated.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Rings? Rings is the Emmys of Instagram. They are recording creators. They have a format and we. We're nowhere to be found. We get it.

[A]

Give it to I show speed.

[B]

What's his name? He's so talented. Something like that, but something like that.

[A]

Man, when is that?

[C]

So we just did a first.

[A]

It happened.

[C]

It happened.

[B]

No, we lost. It's over.

[C]

We started small.

[B]

We won.

[C]

Nothing started small. The idea was to try to recognize creatives from different countries and in different verticals and do something small to start. I don't think you can go out of the gate if you want this to matter long term and try to blow it out of the water. You got to, like, build it up and earn that credibility over time. So we'll see how it goes. But we had about 13, 12 or 13 judges who nominated people, plus a bunch that we pulled just from Instagram. And then they voted. And then we had 25 winners. We just had a dinner in New York about a week or two ago, and we gave them an actual ring designed by this amazingly talented designer named Grace Wells Bonner out of London. Actually, she got hired to be the creative director for the next week. And we also give them a couple kind of fun little things in Instagram so they can. They get. They get a. Their story ring is a different style, you know, ring. They can make their profile any color they want. So if you stumble upon one of these profiles and it's just green or wild yellow, that they're one of the winners. And there's one or two more things going to come out for them over the next couple months. But just try to give some of the most interesting creatives and smaller ones their flowers. Some of the judges were pretty big names, but we tried to find up and coming talent on the, on the. On the creative side.

[A]

That's cool.

[B]

Super cool.

[A]

Yeah. I like the small. I like you awarding smaller creators because pretty much whatever Ben and I are sending back and forth, other than the New York City mayoral race, is Ben and I sending, like, these people have 40 followers. But we were like, this is maybe some of the great comedy.

[C]

That's the best stuff.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

When you can find a small creator who's precious, that's. I think that's the good stuff.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

And news anchor fuck ups. Josh, have you seen these recently? The news anchor clip fuck ups. Shepherd Smith, the woman reading Let tits. Have you seen that one? It's the. She's trying to pronounce a town.

[C]

Oh, no.

[B]

She just goes, let's hits. And they're like, it's Let it.

[C]

I just saw a reel this morning. It was Just mispronunciations. Not news anchors in a row. Just getting progressively worse, worse and worse. The only one I can remember was this guy read Manslaughter as man's laughter.

[B]

Oh, that's so good. They're so good, all of them. All of them are so funny.

[C]

Oh, no.

[A]

Can we. Can I put you on the spot, please? Can we know the president of Instagram? Screen time. You want to check it?

[C]

Yeah, sure. Hold on. Where's this one?

[A]

Fascinating.

[C]

I have it.

[A]

I saw you with.

[C]

Yeah, there we go.

[B]

Yeah, I was trying to figure out where you were going with that. I was like, wow, he's really asking his salary.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, yeah, I'm sure that's public. I'm a share owner.

[B]

I can find that out right now.

[C]

Oh, my.

[B]

Please.

[A]

All right, let me call my rep at Robin Hood.

[C]

Where is it? Where's screen time? Remove screen time on the new one. Here it is. Got it. Okay, so average this week, four hours and 19 minutes a day.

[A]

Stop it. What the hell? You're the president of the biggest social media company in the world and I'm double on my phone.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, yeah. Why? He's the president.

[A]

He uses your phone. No.

[C]

It doesn't. Maybe. Is this. No, I think that's. I mean, that's what it says. I didn't. This phone is new, so I don't have Sunday, so maybe it dragged the average down, but I think it does it properly.

[A]

Can that be. And how much time on Instagram?

[C]

Well, I. It won't. It puts all of the. Because they have the dev builds for all the meta apps. That puts them all together, so I can't really see that. Plus, I spent a lot of time on my desktop on it, so it probably underestimates it.

[A]

Wow. I'm not a big Instagram desktop guy. I'm not. Is it. What's that experience like?

[C]

For me, it's work, because I'm using it to. Like I said, I like to go into the requests folder. So I'll go in there when I'm working. If I'm between meetings, I'll go in there and I'll just go through a bunch of requests and send a bunch of replies.

[A]

And what does a day look like for you? Like an average day as the president of Instagram?

[C]

It's very. It's a very strange job. So it could be. It just. I mean, there's a. There's. How do I explain this? There's a few modes of operation. There's one like, what a typical day Looks like. So a typical day would be like, go to the office, you know, obviously wake up, wake up the kid. Well, they wake me up, feed them breakfast, get them out of the house. We talked about the kids stuff before, maybe before the book was recording, but the first 90 minutes is 100 about these three boys who don't listen to me.

[A]

Oh, dad, I want cereal. I'm the president of Instagram. Can you get the Lucky Charms?

[C]

Come on with Adam. I love how Adam.

[A]

He'S a sweetheart.

[C]

He's a buddy.

[A]

Josh has congrats. Leanne to big weight.

[B]

Oh my God. Says nightmares about Adam White. No, he's not.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

So a difficult day is just a bunch of meetings and a bunch of spreadsheets and email. It's like I'll meet with my staff, the people who work for me directly. I'll do a couple product reviews. So teams who are working on things. Like maybe a team is working on a new safety feature. Like we have a team who worked on teen accounts which launched last year. So I'll meet with them, go over their roadmap. I'll go represent Instagram within meta at other meetings. So maybe there's a leadership meeting across the execs from all the family, all the apps leads to talk about something, a one on one with someone. It's very schizophrenic. It could be from safety to a new creative feature to meeting a creator, to having a one on one to, you know, I don't know, whatever else comes up. But then that's one mode of operation and then the other mode is everything gets flipped on its head. Like I'll be on the road. So, you know, I, you know, I'll go to India and I'll meet with a bunch of creators, do, we'll host an event. I'll do a meeting with a minister or a policymaker, I'll do some press and then I'll get on a plane to go to New York and it'll be completely different. Three days. So it can be. And that's very. Everything is different for between two and 10 days. And then I go back to my normal routine.

[A]

Do you get briefed in the morning? Does your team go, here's what happened in the last 24 hours on Instagram or here.

[C]

Oh no, that sounds nice. No, I have a bunch of dashboards that I look at. So. So in the morning I will almost always start by getting a sense of my inbox. So I get a lot of emails and then I'll take a look at how the platform is doing. So I'll look at. All right. Are people using it more or less? Are they sharing more or less? How do the trends look in different countries? Is there something unexpected going on to just ground myself in the data.

[A]

And what, what happens when, like, you get a call that Kanye's popping off right on. On Instagram? I'm sure people are gonna love three Jews talking about Kanye.

[C]

But, like, you know, what could go wrong?

[A]

It's a part. It's a part of her. He just came to mind. But like, someone with a massive amount of followers is starting to go. Is be slightly erratic. What does that change of command look like? What. What actions take are. Are taken.

[C]

So if someone. So even if you're Kanye, if you're. Or anybody who's a big account, if you're violating the community standards and the content doesn't. Isn't allowed on Instagram, it'll get taken down. So that's not really much of a conversation. If someone is, like, pushing the boundaries or starting to get a little, you know, it looks like they might be going in a weird place or something's off. It's. It's the partnerships team that'll handle it. So they'll, like, try to talk to them and they'll be like, hey, just so you know, like, this is what's allowed, this is what's not allowed.

[A]

Like, right.

[C]

Try to make sure that they have good information so they can make informed decisions about what to do or not do on the platform. And then. But ultimately they get to decide. And then we have to try and do our best to balance both speech, which we believe in deeply and we think it's super important, but also safety.

[A]

Which matters a ton, but it must also be it. You know, when you're going to lock someone out of their account, that's a super public person. I'm sure there's a big conversation. Right. Of how close to the edge are they getting?

[C]

Yeah, yeah, we'll try to just make sure we don't make any mistakes. So if it's someone. If it's a major account, we'll just try to make sure. Because you make it. I mean, there's millions of things reported every day, if not more. So there are systems that try to do this at scale. There's both classifiers and technology, but also tens of thousands of. Of people who look at content and make decisions. They're content moderators. But if it's a major account, we'll just try to really make sure that we don't make a mistake, we'll double, triple check it. Make sure someone senior looks at it and is like, no, this is. Or this is not violating.

[A]

Right. Good to know.

[C]

It's more costly than big accounts. So we try to invest more to make sure we make less mistakes, but we want to make less mistakes everywhere. It's not good for us ever to make a mistake.

[A]

I mean, you think about someone like, who is the number one person, Ronaldo.

[C]

On Instagram by followers. Yeah, it might be. I think it might be. I mean, I actually think that Instagram account might be the biggest. Is the biggest. But that's not really fair. So Ronaldo's one of the biggest.

[A]

Why is that not fair? Just because it might not get as much engagement as someone with less followers.

[C]

No, it's just it is on Instagram. You expect people to go find and search for Instagram. I think it's just.

[B]

I'm. I'm surprised that you guys didn't pull a YouTube on, like, what? Oh, yeah, on. On the Apple. On the Apple product. You got. Yeah, like, you got the Nano and that stupid YouTube album every time you.

[C]

Plugged in your phone into your car for like five years. Yeah, you would play that stupid.

[A]

Yeah, it was bad.

[B]

Yes, it would play bad. Like, I'm surprised that when you. I'm surprised that when you download Instagram, you're not automatic. Like, I'm surprised that Instagram doesn't have 3 billion followers. No, I think it's that, like, us to.

[C]

To. I mean, look, it would be. It wouldn't be crazy. People have done it. But I think it's good for us to experience what it's like to actually try to use the platform. And that builds empathy, but also just understanding of what's working, what's not. There's not that many people who work at Instagram who have large followings. There's maybe like two or three of us. So actually I find bugs all the time that the team doesn't find because they don't have the same experience because they don't have thousands of people messaging them angry things, you know, so they like, their DMs just look very different. The request folder loads just fine for them. And I'm like, this is slow as hell. Like, we gotta fix this.

[A]

Can you ever reply with a little sass? Just a little?

[C]

I think about it all the time. I think about it all the time.

[A]

I have recently.

[C]

Really? Give me a good example.

[B]

Kalila Khalilah was a little sass.

[C]

A little.

[A]

That was cute. I. I work with a foundation called Feed the streets in LA. We're very small, grassroots, and we do four FE a week on Skid Row, MacArthur Park. Just helping.

[C]

I mean, that's, like, where they needed most.

[A]

Yeah. And it's great. And it's just a group of us. And so when I'm there, I always will try to post something because I have 17 million followers. Like, can't hurt.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And also, we don't have a social media team.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And someone wrote me something to the effect of, like, feeding the homeless and posting it on your social media. What a loser. And I was like, this will not stand.

[C]

Someone said something on the Internet somewhere I disagree with. I must engage.

[A]

I was like, brother. So I wrote him back. I said, hi. I was like, so glad you discovered Feed the Streets on social media, as many of our volunteers have, because of posts like this. I said, please feel free to join us anytime. And I ended it with, I'm there every week.

[B]

Come find me, dog.

[C]

Oh, man, come.

[B]

I didn't write you, dog.

[A]

But, you know, it was inferred.

[C]

No, I don't think that. I don't think. I don't think it's. I don't think it would go well for me to get sassy. So I think I should just keep it straight.

[B]

This episode of the Good Guys podcast is brought to you by our friends at Warby Parker. Folks, I love Warby Parker. I love Warby Parker. I love Warby Parker. I wear Warby Parker. When you see me in those green shades, I'm wearing Warby Parker because Warby Parker is convenient. Because Warby Parker has wonderful customer service. Because Warby Parker is the right cost for a premium product. I walked into a Warby Parker Manhattan. I needed new glasses. I said to myself, you know, I don't want to pay too much for a pair of glasses, but I really want great glasses, and I want them right now. And I walked into a Warby Parker, I picked out what I wanted. I picked out those gorgeous green frames. I had a lovely person help me out, and I paid, like, literally $100. It was unparalleled how much cheaper Warby Parker was than any of the competitors that I have ever tried. And the best part is, folks, they have an eye doctor on site. So if you don't want to go to the eye doctor, wait for them to write a prescription, send it over to you. Walk into a Warby Parker, you can do it. Literally, right there. I did it right there. They also fit me for contacts. They fit me for contacts at the Warby Parker and I can buy my contacts through Warby Parker. Warby Parker is this one stop shop. Let me tell you, they are absolutely fantastic. There is no other option. If you are looking for glasses, if you are looking for contacts, they're quality uncompromised. It's so unbelievably easy with their stores and online and they're unbelievably affordable. I literally it was $95. 95. That is just so perfectly priced. I couldn't recommend Warby Parker more. So folks, Warby Parker has over 300 locations. To help you find your next pair of glasses. You can head over to warbyparker.com goodguys right now to try on any pair virtually. Look at this text. Heck, how cool are they? That's warbyparker.com GoodGuys warbyparker.com Goodguys Today I have a very random question. With 3 billion users, do you guys ever think about incubating products? Like obviously you guys are the marketplace for advertising. You have creators advertising creators launching their own brands. You could obviously have the greatest VC incubation arm of CPG products of all time. Like is that ever, is that ever a thought?

[C]

Not really. I mean we've talked about it. I think in general we would rather be a marketing platform for the people who are going to be better at building products than us to market and find audiences for those products. I think in general it's a, it's a, it's a very fortunate opportunity for us to be a platform. It doesn't come without its responsibilities. There's a lot of responsibility for it. But it's nice to not have to deal with producing much hardware outside of the data centers. It's nice not to have to produce a ton of content outside of our own channels. I think platform is just a remarkably amazing business. Now look, as a company we do get into other industries, right? We make hardware with the smart glasses and the AR glasses and, and we've done obviously virtual reality headsets.

[A]

Patagonia jackets.

[C]

Patagonia jackets. Yeah, I sold that one that we were wearing together. But for Instagram, I think we like to try to keep it focused. I feel like Instagram is too complicated as it is in general. I'm trying to figure out ways for us to do less things and do them better. And so I think focus is really a major part of the ethos that Kevin and Mike really started the company and the group with. And so I want to make sure we stay true to that, that.

[B]

But it has to be so hard to stay that focused. Right? Like, I. Again, this is why I. I should never be the president of Instagram. But with 3 billion users, like, you could take out Uber tomorrow. Like, you can just. You can just build Uber. Like, the hardest thing is acquiring 3 billion people. Yeah, it's.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

No, it's mind blowing to me.

[C]

Like, it's an immense amount of reach and opportunity. But I also think we often underestimate what it takes to do something well. And so I, I still feel like we don't do most of what we should do as well as we should. I'm constantly feeling like we should be doing better. I'm constantly feeling like I should be doing better. Maybe that's just my, you know, my. My character trait or flaw. But I would watch. I'd much rather get to best in class across the key things first before expanding to something else, if I could.

[A]

This is you, one of our last two questions. This is, you know, this is asked during all presidential elections, and you're a president.

[C]

I'm definitely not a president, but let's do it.

[A]

What keeps you up at night?

[C]

Oh, my God.

[A]

All I do is worry about Instagram.

[C]

How many times? How many things do you want?

[A]

Like, what can. Like, what's the call? You fear a server went down? Like, Adam waheed moves to TikTok?

[C]

No.

[A]

I don't know.

[C]

Still going back to Adam. I think most of my concerns ladder up to us, I think failing to adapt as the world changes around us. So, you know, we're a big company. The team is big. The team is thousands of people. The company's, you know, tens of thousands of people. And usually what happens when you're in a position like we are, is that not. It's not that competition isn't a risk. Sorry. It's not that competition isn't a risk. Competition is a risk. What really happens is competition adapts to the world as it changes faster than you do. So whether it is minimizing the bad, so addressing safety concerns and keeping people safe on the platform, or it's maximizing the good, leaning into whatever the new trend is on how people entertain themselves or connect with friends. If you don't move quickly, someone else will, and you might move slower because you're too risk adverse or you're too worried about revenue this quarter, or you are not connected with what the trends are that are happening, or there's too much regulatory burden, or there's too much infighting or complacency. It Almost always ladders up to failing to adapt. And so I worry. Most of my fears are about us missing things that are important. Either opportunities to maximize the good or minimize the bad, and then that really adding up over time and getting the better of us.

[A]

Yeah. You need to be more like that, Ben.

[B]

I definitely do.

[A]

You're the president of this spot.

[C]

I think you're doing great.

[A]

He is.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

I'm so confident.

[B]

I appreciate it. The real businessman.

[A]

You know, I'm the actor, kind of the talent.

[C]

What do you call it?

[A]

The talent.

[B]

Just double clicking on that for one second. I just. As you have three kids. Josh has three kids. I have a baby boy. Are. We spoke about this on the last podcast. Like, when are we going to allow our kids to even have phones?

[C]

Good question.

[B]

And Josh and I are big proponents of really, really, really fucking late.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And you're. And you're talking about, like, Instagram for teens. Like, how do you approach. Like, there's. There's two sides to the coin, right? Of course. Make Instagram safe. I'm sure that's something that keeps you up at night. But on this, on the flip side of that, like, just like these constant dopamine hits, no matter how safe Instagram is for kids, phones in general, like, do you have a. Do you have a perspective on that? Like, like, when should kids really be downloading apps? When should they be getting smartphones? Do you have a perspective there?

[C]

Yeah, I mean, I would say a few different things, and maybe I'll take off my Instagram hat for a second and just focus on me. Adam, as a dad, I think it's important to be honest about the fact that every kid is different and their needs and their risks are different. I wouldn't be surprised if I don't feel that my three boys are already at the same age for smartphones or for social media, they're so different. You only have one, so you probably don't know this yet, but you've got three. There's no better lesson on the question of nature versus nurture than having three. And you're like, you are all completely different. And I'm pretty sure I raised you more or less the same. And so I think it's about, one, understanding your individual child's needs, and then two, trying to meet those needs. But for me, I think what matters is boundaries. I think it's super important for parents to set boundaries in general. My mom always used to tell me when I went out of the house, as a college, as a high school kid, she'd always say moderation, which I thought was a reasonable but realistic ask. But for me, with my kids, they're not old enough for social media. They're 9, 7 and 5, but they have iPads, they play video games. And for me it's like, okay, well, what are the rules? They can only play it on the weekends. They have to earn their time. So for every 30 minutes of homework that they do, they're in 30 minutes. And I'll never take the time away because I used to do that and that was wildly dysregulating and that ended up really badly for everybody. But it's capped and so they know it. They know they're not allowed to play until 7am so they don't have an excuse to come into my room at 5am and wake me up to try to get on an iPad. So I just create boundaries. It's hard, but I do want to acknowledge it's much easier said than done. We're trying as a platform to provide tools to help parents enforce those boundaries. So you can actually say, my teen can only use Instagram on these days or for this amount of time, you can actually set that up and then we will enforce it on your behalf. But I think that combination of understanding an individual child's needs and risks and then setting up clear boundaries, I think is maybe the two most important pieces of advice I would give a parent when trying to decide when is your kid ready for a phone or a lot of kids I know my kids don't have them yet are getting smartwatches because the parent in the city wants to know where the kid is. Well, access to the Internet. My kid wants access to the computer now because he likes to do research about Pokemon and things. And honestly, if he can open up Safari and he's pretty smart, he can find anything. And so it's not just about social media or even phones. It's just if you have access to the Internet, you have access to anything that you could find on the Internet if you went looking for it. So I think it's important for parents to set up boundaries and to educate their kids and to think about their kids individual needs.

[A]

Yeah, isn't it crazy? Pokemon was big for us and now it's big for our kids.

[C]

I cannot believe how big it is.

[A]

They love it.

[C]

They're obsessed.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

My kid can rattle off like the evolutions of any random Pokemon from any series. He just studies them for fun.

[A]

Like my kitty just go a shiny one.

[C]

I took notes. I was like, you got to meet your kids where they are. So explain this to me. It's complicated. It is. The card game is really complicated. Yeah, there's a lot going on.

[A]

Okay, so before our final question, what do you. Nuts Moment of the week. I just want to say here, officially, there is a such thing as shadow banning or there isn't.

[C]

So it means different things to different people.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

People use that term to say they're not getting as much reach as they think they deserve. There are instances in which we will limit someone's reach. So if you've posted a bunch of content that got taken down recently, if you're not. If you're posting content that doesn't violate our community guidelines, but we don't. But violates our recommendation guidelines, so we won't show it to people who don't follow you, you will have limited reach. But you can see it. You can go to Profile settings, account status and you can see if there are any issues on your account and then you can try to either appeal them if you think we made a mistake or remove the content if you see that that's why you're not being recommended anymore. And so you can go see it. But yes, your account can have its reach limited, but you can go to Profile settings account status and then see what's going on and then act on.

[A]

That information and then once you correct it. I find there've been a few times and it's really the only times that I've ever posted anything political. I'll just see. Just. It's just a downtrend in reach after I post any and it's rare, maybe every couple years and then I just give it a couple days and it shakes out. It sort of has to find its medium, but it takes like a week or two.

[C]

So what's probably happening there without looking into your specific account is it's not that you're posted about politics. So we're like, no, we want to downrank politics. We don't do that. But it's that a lot of people who followed you because you don't normally post about politics didn't follow you for your political opinions. And so they maybe were less likely to interact or like or share that when they saw it. And so we just. It looks like it's doing less well to us than the normal piece of content. We don't even know if it's about politics. It's just getting less engagement per impression than your average post. And so it does less well because we just think it's less Interesting to other people. Whereas there are counts who post about politics all the time. And that's why people follow them. And they tend to do well in general. So if you really pivot subjects often either to or away from something, politics or otherwise, you can often see your reach go down because it's. Just because that's not why people followed you in the first place doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. You should just know why it's happening.

[A]

Good to know. That's it. No more endorsements from Josh Pack.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

It's funny. It's. It's funny, Josh. When I write a political magilla on Instagram stories, it gets the most reach out of anything. I'm not even kidding.

[A]

But you.

[B]

When I post. When I post like a static with text on stories, it destroys versus when I do of it. It's so weird. It's like. Like destroys. Some people find photos, videos.

[C]

Most people find the opposite. But I definitely hear regularly from creators who find that either carousels and feed photos or stories or photos and stories do better for them than videos. I hear that regularly.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So interesting. But my dear Ben, I must say, you are like, I know you always say you're not political. I would say you're political adjacent. And I don't think that's negative. But I think you make sure when you feel passionate about something, you speak up 100%.

[B]

I guess it was more to what Adam said, which is I don't think anybody followed me for my political opinions or for my commentary. So the fact that they do so well had me thinking, is it simply the format that I'm putting text on like that it's not a video versus what I'm actually saying? I don't. I don't know the answer, but I just always found it incredibly interesting that, like, a story like that will get 400,000 views. And it's like, that's a lot of views, a third of my reach. Like, why is it. Why is it so big?

[A]

Yeah, because your feed is like, goes from. Look at this big knish to what's Gavin Newsom thinking?

[B]

Yes, we got him the other way. Honestly, that's. That's true. It goes from a salami to momdani.

[A]

Should we get to. What? Are you nuts, man?

[C]

What?

[B]

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Adam, this is gripes with people, places and things. Whatever's sticking in your cross. San Francisco, you're a walking. What are you nuts? You absolutely have one. Okay, I think we can go first.

[A]

It's our. This is our final question. So we, we each do it. You want to think about it?

[C]

I'm. I can tell you the first one that came to my mind. But I'm also happy to let you guys go first. Let's see what this is about. I was all about.

[B]

I. Okay, okay, fine. Yeah, fine. If, but if one popped into your head, that was good, feel free.

[C]

Oh yeah, I'll give you. So I just, I don't want to sound like a bad dad, but, but, but my 7 year old is the first thing that popped into my head. So my wife doesn't get up early. I usually get up before she does and I'm kind of on breakfast duty. She comes down and at 7, I mean it's all, all morning from, from 6am on. It's unbelievable with this one. So first he will, I don't know why I'm saying this on being recorded, but he will come into my room at around 6 on the dot. He'll come to my bathroom and he'll take his morning poop solid. He has a bathroom, no reason for a meal. At least now he's old enough. But he used to yell like, will someone wipe my butt? That's how I wake up at 5:50 in the morning. And then it's just a fight for the whole, for the next 90 minutes. It's like, you know, he punches his friend, his brother, in the back of the head for no reason. He won't eat his. Whatever, it's eggs and bacon. Who doesn't like bacon? And then the thing that really gets me is that like 7:55, we leave at 8. I'll be like, all right, right, everybody out. Like shoes and socks. I'm like, I'm like done. I need to get you guys out of that. Shoes and socks everyone, shoes and socks on. And then, you know, you know, I shepherd them over and he will just turn around, walk straight to the couch and then pick up the remote and turn on the TV and then yell at me, where's the baseball game? And I'm like, what are you n. First of all, there's no baseball game. It's 8 in the morning. Like we just said, everyone, your brother's by the. He's getting his shoes on. Like his ability to completely ignore me entirely is unbelievable. I have the contrast between going to work and saying the wrong thing and having 50 people go in the wrong direction for a month and fighting for fifth most influential in my household because my seven year old, my wife, my nine year old, my five year old, and then me and the nanny are battling for fifth on a daily basis is unbelievable. I just wish I had a little bit more sway at home and a little bit less at work. But he's the one who's always humbling. It's just. I can say he just walks away. Just. You're like go left. He's like, I'm gonna go right now. And just walks away. Sorry. It drives me nuts. It was different than what are you nuts?

[B]

No, it's perfect. And the next time he does that, you say what are you nuts?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

He'll throw that right at him.

[A]

We're late for school. Shohei's pitching a no hitter, son.

[C]

You're delusional.

[A]

We gotta go.

[C]

That's literally my life every morning.

[A]

I love it.

[B]

Yeah, that's a great. That, that's a great one. My, what are you nuts? Moment. I was, I was at Equinox the other day on the treadmill and I was very proudly. Josh knows three and a half speed, 12 inclined. 30 minutes. I'm grooving.

[C]

Nice.

[B]

Hey, Adam. I'm good.

[C]

Low intensity, steady state.

[B]

Corner of my eye I see an older gentleman, probably 60 years old. You see him, two drumsticks, drumming, drumming. He's sitting, he's next to like a machine air drumming, drumming, drumming. All of a sudden I see he takes a stick, throws it against the floor. He tries to catch it. He misses it. It bounces away. He goes back. He's drumming. He throws it against the floor. He tries to catch it. He misses it. He's drumming. He throws it against the floor. He finally catches it. He goes, yeah. And he is just practic practicing drumming airpods in like full endurance level. Drumming at the gym, fully air drums. What are you nuts? Ok, this is Equinox. Do you know where the fuck you are? Are you out of your goddamn mind? Like, what are you even doing? Like, everybody is looking at him like this guy is. This guy is crazy. And he is just AirPods in drumming and like his foot. You can't see my foot.

[C]

Foot.

[B]

They can see my foot. You guys can't see my foot because of the new Mac and the way it zooms in on my face so close. He's like doing the pedal with his foot and jamming his wrists. Insanity. Completely nuts.

[C]

I feel like you got to say hi to that.

[B]

He's going to shift me on the way out. I have no interest in saying hi to that guy. Literally a little knife comes out of this one of his drum drumsticks. I have no interest. That crazy man My Woody nuts is.

[A]

As we all know, I'm a Costco daddy. Love a Costco. Love a sample. Look, one sample per person is. What are you, nuts? If your sample is off the charts, be proud and let me get another. What are you, nuts? Let me go for round two. What's the big deal? It's a sample. Like, you're not gonna go under from a sample. And I don't. Because I do go for a second and we gotta do the no eye contact, right? Just look away. And then I just go like. I act like I'm on call or I'm looking at my watch, but, like, can't I just, like, look at you dead in the eyes and go, that was fabulous. I'll have another. What are you nuts?

[B]

I used to do that. Josh, I'm sure you did this, too, as overweight youth. I would walk around. I would walk around the mall and I would, like, grab, like, a nice sesame chicken taster from the Chinese place, and then I would come back around with my hood up, up, and I would grab another one.

[C]

Oh, my God. No, sir.

[A]

Are you in antifa? No, I'm just fat.

[B]

Starving.

[C]

I would go back and I would. I will go back and I'll take two extra, but then I'll also take the thing and buy it. That's like my. Like, that's like my covers, like, all right, I will buy these pop. Whatever, popcorn things, but I'm. But I'm also going to take a couple extra. I feel like that, like, gets me the COVID I need.

[A]

Smart. That's why he's a president.

[B]

Balances out well.

[A]

Yeah. Thank you for doing this, Adam.

[B]

Yeah, it's. It's been an absolute. It's been an absolute pleasure, Adam. Thank you so much for joining us. Anything that you want to plug? Anything that you want to say before we hop off?

[C]

No, I just appreciate the time. I think it's. Parenting is tough. A little humor goes a long way. So I was excited to come and meet you all. So thank you for having me.

[A]

Thanks.

[B]

Adam Mosseri is a good guy, folks. Listen to this podcast. This is five stars. Otherwise, what are you, nuts? Listen to us wherever, at your podcast. Watch us on YouTube, share our clips, Instagram and TikTok. Sorry, Mondays, Thursdays. We will see you next time.

[A]

Please note that this episode may contain.

[B]

Paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services.

[A]

Individuals on the show may have a.

[B]

Direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.