The Problem With Being Liked
November 10th, 2009 |
“Be liked and you will never want.” “I’m well liked in Hartford.” - Willy Loman, Death of a Salesman.
When Willy Loman talked about the importance of being liked, and whether he was liked or not, he didn’t really know what it was to be liked, or whether it really mattered. It was an awkward way for Willy to express the importance of popularity and acceptance.
The same is true of social networkers who are often presented with a thumbs-up icon they can click to “Like” an item. What the heck does it mean to “Like” something? Are you saying you like the story itself, the person who posted it, the fact that we have the freedom to post such a story?
Yesterday I saw a link in a Facebook news feed to a story about the desecration yesterday of a synagogue in Florida on the anniversary of Kristallnacht. Several people had clicked “Like” for this item. Certainly they didn’t like that the synagogue was desecrated. What did they like? They probably felt that the article was useful and they liked the fact that it had been posted. But how can anyone know that from a single click of the mouse?
This is a problem with all social networking. The need for speed and the cult of brevity means that short, imprecise meaning must substitute for lengthier and more accurate. In truth, if you think an article is worth sharing, most networks, blogs, etc. provide the capability to do just that. It’s a little more work than clicking a thumbs-up icon, but it’s also a lot more useful. The alternative is to risk having your position on a critical issue misinterpreted.
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I find the range of acceptable emotions on social networks to be very limited. Can’t decide if this is a good or bad thing. Reminds me of the adages: If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. And: Make your words soft and sweet for you may have to eat them later.
Comment by Guhmshoo — November 10, 2009 @ 4:55 pm
Of course we could resort to the emoticon - yuck. Just for the fun of it I clicked on the “Like” linkey thing-ama-bob, that took me to some stupid page with some long winded definition. I was hoping for the thumbs up icon to appear. I really only respond to a few blogs and I do like the anonymity, of clicking on a stupid icon and watching the counter add one or more to the like or dislike count. Often I will click until boredom sets in not really caring at all about the count. I usually take some time to compose responses to blogs that are worthy, or funny, or piss me off enough. I even check the spelling. Cheers!
Comment by Paul Pannabecker — November 11, 2009 @ 10:02 am
That’s why there is a movement afoot to add a “DisLike” button on many services.
In this instance, the issue isn’t just the ambiguity of the name, but the different ways in which people might use the feature.
For instance, on Twitter I sometimes will “Favorite” something I liked, or maybe disliked but wanted to remember for later. Or, if I am mobile and not in a position to click on a cavalcade of bit.ly links, I may end up “Favoriting” a bunch so I can come back later and read.
If only people would use a web service the way they were intended, instead of screwing around with the system…
Comment by Ike — November 12, 2009 @ 3:14 pm