Do you remember (thanks Gabriella) the old movies about Gladiators and the roaring crowd with their thumbs up or down to decide whether people live or die ? Well we are interested and somewhat concerned by the ever more ubiquitous presence of the Like icon across the internet. It now appears almost everywhere.
Someone posts on a Facebook wall, or a Linkedin news feed, YouTube videos or posts a tweet on Twitter (favourite) and directly underneath is a thumbs up symbol. What is it actually there to achieve we ask ? In it's simplest form it is a quick symbolic way of representing agreement - yes we share the same view. But what it doesn't say is why we like it. Worse, is that we often come across the second or subsidiary reverse option which is to 'unlike' (sic) and yet not to 'dislike'. Perhaps disliking something is just one step too far for most and positivity is the only way forward. Yet there are many times when we disagree with a post and don't like what is being said and the only way we can get this across is to comment. Therefore you can say yes you agree with no comeback but if you disagree, you will need to state why.
In some ways it is a little like the ratings system that was so fashionable a while back and which now pervades many SharePoint solutions. A rating system does not mean something is good in general, it means that it was valuable to me personally if I rated it - it is valuable to me. Think of Amazon and the user feedback on an item. 5 gold stars doesn't mean it is great, it means it is great for the person who rated it. Do you take subjective recommendations on a movie by a friend and then don't go and see it ? No, you go and see it and make your own mind up if you have any sense. In other words, what counts to you, is not what counts to someone else. That is what makes the world diverse and interesting.
Therefore the thumbs up icon, whilst steadily invading every aspect of the internet, may say that someone likes what is being said, it is entirely subjective and in itself is not necessarily a general endorsement of value to others. Peer pressure may indicate that others should agree too and this is where a problem can occur. Look at YouTube and you will see both a thumbs up and a thumbs down icon. When someone dislikes a video they don't necessarily need to explain why but for those who rated the video subject matter highly they then tend to abuse those who disliked what others liked. It is for this reason therefore that a thumbs up is problematic and misleading in too many scenarios.
A good friend of mine asked me why I gave a thumbs up to a few of my own Facebook posts and I argued that it was because I found the thing I posted as humorous or of value to me but she argued that liking your own entries is the worst thing one can do as it is egocentric. An interesting debate topic for sure and I can see how she could be interpreted as right but then again I couldn't dislike her comment as there was no icon.
One may argue that for sheer balance a dislike icon should always accompany a like icon but without added commentary it really tells us nothing except peer agreement and peer agreement without explanation is all too similar to sheep mentality where those of a weaker disposition may be influenced too easily and simply agree with the masses for acceptance sake. This is therefore the antithesis of user-centricity, personal value systems and good solid debate.
Before you click on the like icon next time ask yourself what it is to achieve and how you would equally show your dislike of something. We could add a like icon to our blogs, but then again, you may not agree with our sentiments: and that is perfectly fine with us - we like that.
