i think in our desperation to explain and try to understand failure in the modern day internet we've obfuscated why things fail behind the monolith of the ALGORITHM, this special thing that shows folks what they want to see and hides what they don't. but i think in reality we've blinded ourselves to the truth in that the 'algorithm' is just human nature; we follow what we're interested in, pass over what we're not.
as attention spans reduce and contend is condensed, folks will seek out content that speaks to them immediately, like image macros or funny little animations. and that's not to denigrate folks who do consume long-form media, they just aren't always there, raring to go, ready to read your many paragraphs of intricate worldbuilding, and that's okay! because there will be folks who are ready to engage and explore your work in interesting and unique ways - just don't expect them on your first pass, i think
