Huge Uptick in Likes

[centrarchid]

I cannot help but notice the huge increase in the number of likes recorded since the change in formats. Even I am getting likes now so possibly system needs to be re-calibrated?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

sorry @centrarchid Just couldn't help myself!

imho - "likes" are not "weighted" like they used to be. It seems that if you look at "trophies" you receive points for the likes you give AND get - I could be wrong

"Weighted" likes were given more judiciously.

 

[drumstick diva]

Actually" likes" takes the place of "ovations." I liked that name much better. Likes makes it sound like Facebook which I hate with a passion.

I think Bycers are probably more used to the likes from Facebook, and maybe just routinely click on that from habit. The more you post, the more- likes you end up having- just because more people are exposed to your responses.

I gave you a like just now, because I like different points of view.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

I think, Not that anyone may care, our trophy points should count for something. I give more likes now just because I can. There is no limit . What if for instance , for every 100 trophy points we earn we received a one month premium membership ? We need some goals !

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I do give more likes than I used to for sure.

I miss the little "comment" thingy that you could make. Sometimes a whole post may not be a complete like - just certain points that are made, but I suppose that's why we can highlight and quote now, but I usually don't take the time to do that.

 

[centrarchid]

The change may cheapen the effort of acknowledging a post. In my case it gives an odd motivation to post more without investing as much in the quality of the content. The "like" value of a given post does not seem as strongly correlated with informational value.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Great discussion!

It's a very tricky balance on how to manage "like" and reputation systems. There are actually people that specialize in just this one type of system... the psychology, impact, algorithms, calculations, etc. There are even books that focus just on this topic... in fact, I've interacted with the author of this book on the subject... and it's amazing how complex something so relatively simple can become.

So, yes, the "likes" system isn't a perfect measurement of "quality"... just like "post counts" aren't either... but they are important metrics when combined with other data points.

In fact, it's been really awesome on this new system I have WAY more access to aggregate and analyze data than I ever could before, and it's been amazing to run reports on the community and seeing the signals that come through all the noise!

 

[aart]

Human psychology and cultural anthropology is fascinating!

So, yes, the "likes" system isn't a perfect measurement of "quality"... just like "post counts" aren't either... but they are important metrics when combined with other data points.

That's for sure!
How/where are these metrics most valuable...as an advertising 'CV' so to speak?

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

How/where are these metrics most valuable...as an advertising 'CV' so to speak?

Great question!

Advertising: Nope, not at all. We've never had an advertiser care one way or another about these.

The value is in a few key areas:

1. Increases user engagement (both the peeps giving and receiving the likes)
2. Member post popularity and quality
   
3. Post & thread popularity & quality (for example, this feature lets users sort each thread by most liked)
   
   

I've been running some really interesting queries and I can find really interesting stuff. For example, here are a few queries I might run:

• Members that joined in the past 3 months that have over 500 posts sorted by post-to-like ratio. This shows me which new members are potentially future community rock-stars.
• Members that have the most likes on their posts in the emergencies section over the past year. This can help me identify who might be some of the more experienced members of the community.
• Threads started in the past month in the "Raising chickens" section that have the highest total-likes. This can show us some threads that we might want to feature in our newsletter or homepage

So, that's just a few examples that return really interesting results. Again, "likes" and # of posts aren't perfect measures of quality, but they definitely help show which content people like the most and which members post stuff that people like the most... which is very helpful to the growth and sustainability of our awesome community!

 

[BantyChooks]

I give "likes" (I call 'em ovates still) for things I find funny along with the educational posts.