Times Union, Albany, NY, Kristi Gustafson column
Posted By Admin on August 27, 2011
It is, in a way, the modern-day peer-pressure. We feel forced — through that word of encouragement on our Facebook wall or through an email from the local pizza place — into endorsing a brand by putting our like behind it.
The act of networked liking has diluted the significance of preference in the same way that the idea of friend has been diluted by the act of friending everyone and anyone through social networking sites, says Damien Smith Pfister, assistant professor in the department of communication studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Whenever something becomes easier to express, it threatens to make that expression less significant. The more difficult communication is, the more significant it tends to be.
Hard data on the number of likes an average Facebook user has have yet to be compiled, but an unscientific look at dozens of my 3,300 Facebook friends finds that many have well more than 100 likes tied to their profile.
When it comes to business-based likes, the stats are more tangible. The average number of likes per post on a brands Facebook page is 54, according to Visibli, a company that helps companies brand and monetize shared links. This is a sign that people are watching and, at times, haphazardly putting their stamp on a company or product.
This willy-nilly liking has caused the term to change tremendously, and there is no hard definition of like anymore, says Lorrie Thomas Ross, a professor of social media marketing at the University of California Berkeley Extension.
Liking a business can mean many things to many people — there is no one-like-fits-all approach, says Ross. Someone may like a page to get access to customer service information (like a baby stroller company to get help), then be on their way, never to engage again, where some may like a business (like a fashion brand) because they are craving more brand engagement.
We begin prostituting our name — and Facebook profile pic — by putting our online identity behind something can get us free goods. And, really, who doesnt like a free pizza, a chance to win a 10-day cruise or a years supply of diapers?
The current trend toward liking is a rather unbalanced reflection of the human ability to like and dislike, says Pfister. There has been a demand to produce an official dislike button of Facebook for some time, which has been resisted by Facebook executives.
Why?
Probably because Facebook recognizes that cycles of liking produce positive feelings that further embeds peoples communicative lives into the site. Disliking might turn the site more negative and ultimately cause people to tune out one more point source for cynicism and negativity, Pfister says. At the same time, more dislike buttons would allow people to express a slightly wider range of reaction. Right now, its like or nothing — but wouldnt our conversations be enriched more by knowing what people dont like as well?
Reach Kristi Gustafson Barlette at 454-5494 or kbarlette@timesunion.com.
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