The Triond Hot Content List Algorithm

Disclaimer – This article in no way belittles the efforts and successes of any Trionder who has ever made this list. I humbly submit the facts available at this present time.

Many people have had their say about how to get on Triond’s Hot Content List so I thought that I would give my observations on this intriguing topic. When you search “Hot Content List” in Triond’s content search box there are hundreds and hundreds of articles written on this topic yet no real solution to the mystery is given in them. Some say it is all about quality. Others say that it is all about the quantity of views. Still others speculate that it has to do with how many views you get at a particular time of day. I have read what those who have been on the list regularly had to say and they themselves do not know how they got there! They say they at times got on the list with a mere handful of views, comments and likes and at other times thousands of views did not get them there. Based on the available facts my belief is that it is not about quantity or quality but chronology!

Look at the “Hot Content List” of August 6th, 2012.

Image via Triond.com

Look over the names. Now, ask yourself:

When did Ulsterman join Triond? – 2009.

When did Dale Walker join Triond? – 2009.

When did Silent Writer join Triond? – 2009.

When did Val Mills join Triond? – 2009.

When did athena goodlight join Triond? – 2009.

Then two writers are there twice so that is seven spots for Triond writers who joined in 2009. Only Earth Mother in this list joined in 2008 which is not far off from 2009.

How do I know this? See Shelpeare’s Definitive Guide to When Triond Writers Joined. 

Are there any regulars missing from this list? Well, Mnofdichotomy (2008), Spencer Hawken (2008) and Jimmy Shilaho (2008). Only Ruby Hawk was from 2007. (Forgive me if I missed out any Hot Content List regular).

Do you see a pattern emerging here? 

I did a screenshot of the Hot Content List on July 25th, 2011 which can be seen in my article Is The Triond Hot Content List Broken? Two of the four people on the August 6th, 2012 list that are not on the August list are Melanie T (2008) and Alistair Briggs (2009). 

The following factors are not always constant so I cannot make a rule out of them but they are worthy of note:

(1)   Both Earth Mother and Silent Writer joined on the 1st of a given month and year. Both Ulsterman and Val Mills who are on the list twice here joined on the 11th of a given month and year. 1 and 11 are important numbers here.

(2)   The last three on this list joined Triond in the third month of 2009. Note that one name appears twice there.

(3)   Spots #5-7 are filled by writers whose referral numbers (registration numbers) start with the digits 13, 14 and 15 consecutively (132891, 14979 and 153231) and then it goes back to 14 again as one of those names appears twice. Spot #2 is also filled by  writer with  registration number starting with 13.

(4)   Spots #1,2, 4 and 5 have a parallel structure: the registration numbers start with 23, 13 and then 23 and 13. 

Compare “The Hot Content List” with the “Who’s Using Triond?” Feature

Are all these things co-incidence or an algorithm? Well, remember the “Who’s Using Triond?” feature that you see before logging into Triond? See Who’s Using Triond? where I showed that that feature was based on chronology – a chronological algorithm that favored writers from certain years. I believe that the Hot Contest List algorithm is not very different from the “Who’s Using Triond?” algorithm.  The “Who’s Using Triond?” feature features nine Triond writers every day in boxes that are arranged in three rows by three columns. That particular algorithm seems to favor writers from 2007 and 2008.

I looked at the list of people appearing on the “Who’s Using Triond List?” for January 1st, 6th, 7th and 8th as well as July 3rd and 8th in 2011 and here are the screenshots of the data I gathered from those dates – nine lines each as there are nine boxes of writers:

The “Who’s Using Triond” algorithm favors 2007 and 2008 writers and we have seen something similar happening with the Hot Content List algorithm. That is why I wrote that it is not about quantity or quality but about chronology. This does not mean though that Triond writers who joined in another year have not made or cannot make the list but generally chronology plays an important role in these algorithms.

Recommended Reading

Here are some articles to read from Triond writers where Trionders state that the Hot Content List is not necessarily about views, likes and comments. Some of the most valuable information on this topic is not only in the articles themselves but in the comments section of these articles. That being said, read what the following writers (including me) had to say about the Triond Hot Content List as well as the equally interesting comments writers made on the articles regarding their own experiences on the Hot Content List):

Why Hard Work Will Not Get You Onto The Hot Content List  by Louie Jerome

Is The Triond Hot Content List Broken? by shelpeare

The Hot Content List: Dispelling The Myths  by Jimmy Shilaho (He describes the Hot Content List as Triond’s “top level secret”).

The Secret of Making The Hot Content List by Webiny (In the comments section both Hot Content List regulars Jimmy Shilaho and Ulsterman stated that they have no idea about how to get on the Triond Hot Content List).

The Real Secret Behind The Hot Content by Nikita K.

Nine Thoughts Regarding The Hot Content List by Ben Pearce

For related articles see:

Shelpeare’s Definitive Guide to When Triond Writers Joined

What Your Triond Picture Profile Says About You

Shelpeare’s Triond History Compendium