‘Likes’ Don’t Have to Ruin Social Networks—If You Do Them Right

Paid-only images social community Glass has lastly given in and added likes—however not the best way you would possibly suppose. 

Likes, follower counts, and ever-shifting algorithmic timelines—they’re all designed to maintain you scrolling and opening your social community apps obsessively. When the photo-sharing app Glass launched, it did so with none of those. But in a radical twist, Glass has simply added likes, and in typical trend, it is finished so in a means that does not spoil the app. It’s so smart you marvel if it will be potential for Instagram, Twitter, and the remaining to copy. 

“On Instagram, I think removing likes would be relatively frictionless and would result in a similar implementation (at least visibly) to Glass,” says photographer and app developer Chris Hannah advised Lifewire by way of e-mail direct message.

“But for Twitter, it’s a bit more complex to hide the numbers, as they can be useful, especially when coming across a viral tweet, for example, where you can quickly see the number of likes and retweets a tweet in your timeline has. In some ways, these stats can provide context to a piece of content, or at least indicate why you might be seeing that content in your feed.”

Likable

Likes would possibly seem to be a easy function. You like a tweet or a photograph, and also you faucet the like button. But it is far more difficult. Instagram influencers, for instance, use likes and follower counts as metrics to show their recognition, and subsequently their worth to the entrepreneurs that pay them.

Twitter did not at all times have likes. It used to have stars, which made it really feel extra like a means to bookmark a tweet. I am unable to be the one one who feels soiled each time they ‘like’ an unsavory tweet to put it aside for reference. 

And at a private stage, we’d choose the worth of our pictures by the variety of likes they entice. 

Glass determined upfront to keep away from that type of manipulation. But now, it has relented and added a like button.

Like Likes, however, Like, Better

“What would a like button look like if it wasn’t fueling addictive algorithms and collecting personal data? How would it act if it wasn’t the most prioritized action in the app? What if it was more intentional—a little slower?” says Glass on its weblog. 

It would appear to be this:

It’s referred to as “appreciation,” and it is a means to inform the photographer that you simply dug their image. “The way I see it, it’s a cleaner way to replace the ‘Nice shot’ or ‘Great photo’ comments,” says Hannah in a weblog publish. 

Glass’s likes do not present a counter, nor, says Hannah, is there a straightforward means to see an inventory of likes in your photographs. What you get is a notification when someone faucets to present their appreciation. Unfortunately, you in all probability additionally get the little hit of the dependancy that we affiliate with this type of factor. But when you’re going to do likes, that is the best way to do it. 

Glass is not the primary social community to intentionally miss options that beforehand appeared important. Micro.weblog is a type of mashup between Twitter and a brief private running a blog service. It has no likes and but is fashionable and compelling. “Micro.blog is not a popularity contest, so we don’t have public like counts either,” Micro.weblog founder Manton Reece advised Lifewire by way of e-mail.

Engagement

If likes and follower counts aren’t important to social networks, may Twitter, Instagram, and others observe alongside? 

It’s potential, however it will imply a elementary change to how these companies work. Because they’re free to use, Twitter and Instagram make their cash from promoting, and that promoting is focused primarily based on every kind of metrics drawn from how you employ the app or web site. 

Twitter may maintain likes round however cover them from customers. Ditto for follower counts. Instagram has even finished experiments on this course. But in the long run, these metrics are what maintain us coming again. We like follower counts, and we love likes. They could also be what makes social networks so addictive. 

A brand new service like Glass could make its place clear from the start. In this case, its place is the alternative of Instagram’s recognition contest. But the prevailing networks are unlikely to change, as a result of why would they? Just a few people complain about likes and follower counts, however does anyone actually care? Or know that they care? 

Still, if nothing else, Glass exhibits that alternate options can exist and even thrive, which a minimum of offers the parents who do care a spot to go.