It might depend on when you think it started. Does usenet fit the bill ? (no ‘likes’ per se, but the number of answers in a thread would be a good proxy) Or b

It might depend on when you think it started. Does usenet fit the bill ? (no ‘likes’ per se, but the number of answers in a thread would be a good proxy) Or blog rings where people would link to your pages and you’d monitor link numbers and page views ? or just the number of comments on your “guestbook” section of your blog ? I am not sure if those were more or less legitimate to accumulate than likes. My parents sure didn’t understand what we could be doing on the internet (I passed it as a research tool while still studying) but friends would proudly show their blog numbers, there was a hierarchy of well respected posters on boards, and there was a clear social effect IRL during off meetings. In a way I think the numbers game started the minute something could be counted regarding stuff you did online.