Here is a similar thought as my post the other day about
social media through the lifecycle . This one is a post on 10 kinds of Facebook
likes. The author only wrote a sentence
or two explaining each one, so I will liberally replace his descriptions (so blame
me if you disagree!!) with my own thoughts for each one.
And of course, these categories would work in any reputation management
environment, not just Facebook.
The basic idea is that “Likes” often have nothing to do with
actual liking. They can be signals to
the person posting, his/her other connections, your connections, or even to
yourself.
I Saw It: this is a
simple one to one communication. On the
surface, you are saying you like what the person posted. But really, you are telling them that you are
actively reading what they post. You
haven’t forgotten about them. Or if they
don’t know you, it is kind of like a “here I am – check me out” request.
Pile On: this is when there are a lot of people liking a
post and you join in. You aren’t talking
to the original source as much as you are declaring yourself part of the
in-group. This is one of the few active communications some lurkers use because
it is relatively anonymous and risk-free.
Bookmark: when you"like" something, you can find it later on
your own page. So this works as a
bookmark to remind yourself to come back later.
You might not even like it at all in the real sense.
Lazy Like: I hadn’t thought about this one, but as soon as I
read it I realized that I do it all the time.
I have a lot to say (like you didn’t already know this :-)),
but I need to strategize about where to spend my time. So sometimes there is a post that I would
like to talk about, but just don’t have or don’t want to invest the time
in. This "like" is a quick replacement –
perhaps signaling to the poster or other readers that you have something to say
so that they know it. But you don’t have
to actually do anything.
Shine a Light: I would have called this one something else,
but it is basically just a way to get the post onto your own page so that your
own connections will see it. Or for
people who would have seen the post anyway but perhaps trust you more than they
trust the original source, you are highlighting its value for them. This is a cheap form of content curation. Perhaps we should call it a "Curation Like".
Dislike: We have all
done this. You “like” it because you don’t
like it, and assume everyone will know.
It is an understandable business decision for Facebook not to include a “dislike”
button, so this is a decent replacement.
Condolence: Similarly, sometimes there is a sad post and you
don’t want to signal that you like the content, but that you like the person
and feel for them. You “like” the post,
and assume that everyone will know what you mean.
Reminder Like: I did change the name of this one. Have you ever posted something at an odd hour
and then by the time anyone logs in, it is gone from their feed and they never
see it? You can’t repost it (well you
can, but . . .). So if you ‘like” your
own post it reappears at a better time.
It is better to use a dashboard system like Buffer, but this is good for
emergencies.
Mercy: I would have called it a “Pity” like, but the idea is
the same. You know someone has few
connections or that no one ever responds to them. So you "like" something they post just so they
get some feedback. Maybe they are a friend
and you feel bad for them. Or maybe you
just want to encourage them to post more.
At the basic level, you are telling them that they are officially one of
the in-group.
Absence: His tenth one isn’t a like, but I have felt this so
I thought I would include it anyway.
Have you ever posted something and no one liked it even though you
thought it was worthy? Or perhaps you
posted it specifically for one person, and they didn’t respond with an “I saw it’
like to confirm. It just leaves you
wondering. I hate that :-).
Thoughts on these? Any to add? Any you think no one would ever really do?
