Where Did BuzzFeed Quiz Disappear?

BuzzFeed quizzes, once a staple of internet culture, have seemingly taken a backseat. Remember the “Which Harry Potter character are you?” quizzes? They propelled BuzzFeed to the top of the blogging world in 2011. This rise was fueled by several factors:

• The explosive growth of social media, particularly Facebook.
• People’s desire to explore and express their identities.
• The ease of sharing quiz results, showcasing “who they are” to their network.

Despite being somewhat silly and trivial, these quizzes were undeniably entertaining. The fun lay not just in taking the quiz, but in sharing the results with friends and family.

However, as time progressed, the landscape shifted. Data analytics and advertising engines became more sophisticated and pervasive. Quizzes transformed into “surveys” used for consumer profiling and creating echo chambers.

Today, BuzzFeed is leveraging AI to generate quizzes. Meanwhile, every major social media platform, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, has incorporated quizzes in the form of polls. The number of questions in these quizzes has dwindled to just one. Yet, thanks to robust AI/ML models, a single question is all it takes to alter a user’s journey on these platforms.

Despite these changes, quizzes are far from extinct. They have merely evolved to fit into the current digital landscape.

BuzzFeed’s stock may be trading at less than a dollar, and BuzzFeed News, once a Pulitzer-winning entity, was shut down in April 2023. However, the public’s desire to share their opinions and viewpoints quickly remains strong.

Quizzes, in one form or another, continue to cater to this need, proving their resilience and enduring appeal in the ever-changing digital world. They remain a quirky, engaging way for users to interact with content, express themselves, and connect with others.