4 ms·

Likes are 100% never going anywhere. They provide a means for Google/FB/whoever to categorize you. The instant you click 'like' on a post about the latest pro-D

Likes are 100% never going anywhere. They provide a means for Google/FB/whoever to categorize you. The instant you click 'like' on a post about the latest pro-Dems thing, or on a post organizing a pro-life rally, or on something a band posted, they instantly know a lot about you. (Or more specifically, the algorithms begin acting as if they know a lot about you.) Every time you click 'like,' you are fine-tuning the company's profile of you. Maybe at one point they were about rewarding opinions or something, but in today's big-data-driven social networks, they are entirely about categorization for ads.

buboard 7y ago
its the public display of likes that's driving this posturing behavior
- dragonsngoblins 7y ago
  People wouldn't "like" anywhere near as much if it wasn't public
reroute1 7y ago
Wasn't instagram just recently experimenting with not showing the number of likes?
- Gene_Parmesan 7y ago
  Certainly possible. I do know they have done some small work to de-emphasize the numbers -- the idea being that seeing a small number next to your own post makes you sad and less likely to use the service. And I suppose I could see the possibility of a place like instagram deciding, actually, we can deduce enough based purely on who you follow, whose stuff you regularly click on. Who knows, maybe they do actually see the possibility of culture at large making a hard turn away from SM due to its tendencies to increase depression & anxiety, increase conflict, etc., as a serious risk to their business.
  - louisv 7y ago
    But consider that in Instagram's case, it's most likely just an attempt at discrediting "influencers" - which are a big parallel marketplace of ads occurring on Facebook's property without any return for the main company.
    - asdff 7y ago
      sounds like facebook should get into the game and start selling first party fake follower counts
asdff 7y ago
They don't need the like. They can just see that you stopped scrolling for long enough to engage with the ad.

buboard 7y ago

its the public display of likes that's driving this posturing behavior

dragonsngoblins 7y ago
People wouldn't "like" anywhere near as much if it wasn't public

reroute1 7y ago

Wasn't instagram just recently experimenting with not showing the number of likes?

Gene_Parmesan 7y ago
Certainly possible. I do know they have done some small work to de-emphasize the numbers -- the idea being that seeing a small number next to your own post makes you sad and less likely to use the service. And I suppose I could see the possibility of a place like instagram deciding, actually, we can deduce enough based purely on who you follow, whose stuff you regularly click on. Who knows, maybe they do actually see the possibility of culture at large making a hard turn away from SM due to its tendencies to increase depression & anxiety, increase conflict, etc., as a serious risk to their business.
- louisv 7y ago
  But consider that in Instagram's case, it's most likely just an attempt at discrediting "influencers" - which are a big parallel marketplace of ads occurring on Facebook's property without any return for the main company.
  - asdff 7y ago
    sounds like facebook should get into the game and start selling first party fake follower counts

asdff 7y ago

They don't need the like. They can just see that you stopped scrolling for long enough to engage with the ad.