Here is an interesting question for our Connect family… Do we actually need likes? Do they hurt more than they hinder? Do they create an entry barrier to new people?
Recently our major social platforms such as insta and most recently facebook have started to hide like counts for everyone except the author of the post. The author still gets notifications about likes, they still can see how many liked it so they can get an idea of the effectiveness of their post but no one else can see it.
Why is this happening? Well its for a few reasons and I feel they are pertinent to Connect…
Some people get more attention for who they are and how well they’re known - this is ok but it makes them into influencers - this isn’t necessarily bad but sometimes it can be
Some people farm likes and actively @mention people to try and get more likes - this is spammy behaviour that Connect really doesn’t need
That visible count makes an entry barrier, recently Local Guides team sent out emails to many people of Levels 5 and 6 inviting them to join Connect. The result, tens of thousands of new posts and what was the reaction to a lot of them?
They’re not bad posts mostly but they don’t get a lot of attention if any. Imagine how this makes the author feel, its natural to not get much attention when you first start posting - I remember when I started here there wasn’t much love going on but that changes over time. The challenge is that everyone else can see that big fat zero sitting there on the post. I think this both embarrasses the author and causes people to not open the post because they can already see no one else likes it.
When you don’t get likes it can make you feel bad and under valued. If you’re already susceptible this can lead to self harm and possibly even worse - this won’t change if no-one can see your likes but this zero can be compounded when the author knows everyone else can see it. The effect is minimised if no-one else can see the count.
If this post has triggered anything for you please reach out to your local support services. In Australia
Lifeline on 13 11 14
Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800
MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978
Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467
Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36
Headspace on 1800 650 890
QLife on 1800 184 527
In other countries please consult your local services directory.
I just “liked” your post…the irony . I agree with your assessment. I also think that liking things has made us lazier as a whole. Instead of engaging by commenting, we’re quicker to hit like and keep scrolling. Great post, my friend.
@PaulPavlinovich I like the idea to make the likes invisible. If you propose this idea, please tag me, you will get my vote. Oups, is that considered a like? Hahaha.
Great post @PaulPavlinovich . I especially don’t see the value in receiving a badge for giving likes (kudos). Possibly, this could motivate someone to randomly like posts they don’t even read, just to obtain the next badge. Also, featured posts frequently get large numbers of likes which would contribute to the situation you mentioned of making a new user feel they could never measure up.
I find that too @anu7spice when scrolling through the feed on insta for example, you like like like but don’t often stop to take a moment to write a comment - it seems to really surprise people when you do it! Its nice to engage with people even if its only over a few words.
I wonder what would happen if we all had a like button on our bodies, would people that know each other stop saying hello when they meet and just hit the button instead?
Hehe yes I guess it is @Ant_Bad_Yogi I’ve not proposed it as an idea yet because I’m interested to know how other people feel about it before doing that.
So far the reception of the thought has been good, but I would like to hear from some people who would rather it stayed how it was so their thoughts can be considered too.
That is an interesting thought @lynneannec I wonder if people do try to work their way up to the gave 5000 kudos badge deliberately? I’ve certainly seen people celebrate it here on Connect and on socials before. Was their motivation just the badge or did they genuinely offer the 5000 likes as feedback of quality on someone’s post.
I agree having the author see the likes I think is a reasonable thing @C_T as it does give some indication of the reach of the post. There’s no point writing about unpopular topics. Others don’t need to see that count though.
A view count for the post would be interesting, but I’d want to it to be a measure of click through rather than a consequential view because is high on a page someplace.
Thanks for raising this great question @PaulPavlinovich . I strongly believe that we do not need to see likes. If you like something, you like it. What should it matter what anyone else thinks? I also agree that not getting love on Connect hurts. As LGs, it costs us nothing to comment on someone’s else’s post- to say Hi or thanks or let them know you enjoyed their photos or content. So let’s do our best to be kind to one another and make Connect the best community ever!
I agree with you about paying attention to the content of posts. And think Google is going in this way, too. Since some months ago user’s aren’t able to see leaderboard page on Connect.
Although still, I’m not totally sure if removing likes from social platforms would be something good or not. Because it is also one quick way to show our reaction.
But here on Connect, it would be good if we turn back to what we had in Connect v1 the featured posts and not Trending Posts that we’ve right now. It helps more valuable posts to be featured by Googlers.
This is an interesting tought @PaulPavlinovich , and I fully agree with you.
Re-thinking the community and the way to be in a community.
Of course @JustineE , leaving a comment seems to me much more enjoyable than just dropping a like.
Being very prolific, I am frequently affected by this “message of love” that someone give me, with a long list of Likes given from my profile, without opening and reading my posts. This is something that really hurts me, so I fully agree with Paul in removing the visibility of the Likes count for the post.
I have tried in the past with an idea, now closed (Removing the Like button from the post preview ) and with a scream of pain (Keeping Connect a clean place ) where I received 31 Likes (LOL). Yes, @lynneannec , removing the “given likes” badge can be an interesting option, to invite the people to read what we write, to encourage the new comers to stay and to improve. At least, what is written on the badge is not frequently true (I usually found that all the "Spam Post have at least one or two likes, from famous Local Guides:( )
hi @PaulPavlinovich New Connect users need to develop and possibly receive appreciation from Google when adding something new and valuable to the forum.
In Google Maps, bonuses are obtained on detailed revisions added and more recently are given benefits for certain photos.
You can further propose something similar for Connect.
The contribution of a guide should be seen and appreciated, more or less as is the case
The guide and he can appreciate his own willpower. If I like a picture of a butterfly made with a cheap phone give like to the post without any problems.
Taking a good picture is very difficult, a guide has a phone with the camera $5 another has thousands of dollars equipment.
To write a good post takes a long time and you must have a lot of skills and knowledge. I was following the forum and I read that a moderator takes about a week to write a post, I agree what he totally.
If you are annotated by the crowd @ @ @ received from other Connect members you can indulge them ignore, it is your right.
On the great social networks where to put the problem likes users are preoccupied by other totally different stuff from the volunteer work of a Local Guides enrolled in the program.
@Amiran the socials have kept likes, just changed who can see the outcome - the author can still see them which I think is reasonable
Did you know that Connect still has the featured posts? It also has trending by Local Guides and trending by Googlers. I felt that these changes are good because:
Featured - are LG posts chosen by Googlers to highlight their quality and/or message
Trending by Googlers - these show awesome posts from our Googler friends
Trending by Local Guides - I really loved it when this change came in because its hard for Local Guides to compete on comment numbers with Googlers and that one way Trending is driven (there are other factors)
To see the three different types of featured all at once go to the Home page
Thanks for your thoughts @ErmesT it is interesting that this post is mostly receiving general agreement to the idea and yes I do recognise you’ve raised some similar ideas in the past and had my support with them.
@PaulPavlinovich I don’t see featured post on the home page but yes those are on separate boards which is not enough in my opinion.
I like trending posts for LGs in comparison with Googlers trendings because of the reason you mentioned. But trending posts are based on likes and comments; and aren’t selected by Googlers. So if a post gets more likes it will get even more only because being on Trending not because of it’s content.
Hi @To_paul thanks for responding. I understand what you’re saying.
Generally new posters do get a comment and a welcome from either Google Moderators or Connect Moderators and often both. There are some posts where this doesn’t happen of course - we’re not perfect.
I do want to comment on the photography, a multi thousand dollar camera does not make a good photographer. Anyone can be a good photographer with any photographic device. Its commonly said in the photo world that a poor photo was probably taken by a potato camera… well until this guy named Niko actually made one https://petapixel.com/2018/06/28/this-guy-made-a-real-potato-camera/ and blew that out of the water!
Different people will take different approaches for writing a good post. Some people think about the post up front in their head (I tend to do this) and when its ready it flows out of my fingers onto the page. Others work on their post off Connect in a document or on Connect relying on the draft mechanism. I certainly know people who do all three and there are no right or wrong answers here as everyone has their own creative process. A quick post isn’t necessarily a poor post.
I certainly agree you can ignore the @mention from another Connect person, but that doesn’t change that it is defined as spammy behaviour especially when it comes to any of the Moderation team as we get literally hundreds to thousands of notifications each week that we do need to check in case someone needs help.
I’m not sure what you meant @OneKhalid but please stay on topic for this post. Posting off topic content onto someone else’s post is spamming and is known as thread-jacking. I’ve spammed your posts. Feel free to create your own post but please stay on topic for Connect and Local Guides and remember this is an accepting community where no one is judged by skin, sex or religion or any other attribute.
. I agree with your assessment. I also think that liking things has made us lazier as a whole. Instead of engaging by commenting, we’re quicker to hit like and keep scrolling. Great post, my friend.
Food for thought 
