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Elon Musk ’s X is preparing to make “ likes ” individual on the societal connection , in a change that could potentially obscure user over the difference between something they ’ve favorited and something they ’ve bookmarked . According to Modern Post bycompanyemployees , the determination to hide the likes of is meant to incentivize engagement , by allowing citizenry to favorite cognitive content that seems “ edgy ” and to protect their public image .
It ’s not clear this is the best resolution to the trouble X is trying to fix , such as more signaling for its algorithm so it can better personalize its content to your interests .
some clarification on the secret like change : – you will be able to see who wish your posts – you may see the like reckoning for all posts / replies / etc – you may not see the mass who like someone else ’s post – you may not see others " like " tab on their profile
The variety come across as middling unnecessary , given that X , the company formerly get it on as Twitter , already had a private manner to save up posts on the chopine : bookmarks . While X ’s bookmark are meant for collecting station you may want to refer back to or threads you may want to read later , they also serve as the more individual alternative to the “ like . ”
Adding to the confusion is the fact thatusers will be able-bodied to see who care their postsas well as the like count for all their posts and response . In other intelligence , the individual “ like ” is only semi - individual — it ’s known to the poster , who could theoretically expose someone ’s likes if they desire to . If X is trying to incentivize “ edgy ” engagement , such as wish spot that boast adult content or uttermost political military position , for deterrent example , people may still be hesitating to “ like ” that substance , given that it ’s not an whole private system .
Instead , they may continue to practice ex ’s bookmark or even external link - saving tools to save those liked posts they do n’t desire to risk disclose .
According to posts by X employees , users will no longer be able to see the the likes of affiliate with other hoi polloi ’s posts nor will they be able to browse someone ’s like through a tab on their visibility . This could help to extinguish the snoop others do , but it also remove a utilitarian find feature .
If you ’re just joining X , for instance , you might surf the likes of others you follow to get ideas about who else they may receive interesting and engaging . Or , if research another soul ’s profile to determine if you ’d want to follow them , you could practice their likes to get a sense of what sort of content they ’re mostly into .
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I go to the ilk pill of people I value to encounter first-class content I might not have seen otherwise . mayhap the choice to turn off likes is optimum ?
The real problem with ilk is that the feature ’s creation stir the import of what used to be a bookmarking function . Before it wasrebrandedfrom a star to a heart image , as was the style at the time , the feature was more of a “ favorite ” rather than a signal of musical accompaniment . Users could theoretically favorite anything because doing so did not suggest that they actually enjoyed or agreed with the capacity .
Rather , it could be something they were simply documenting — a political leader ’s statement you massively disagreed with but want to commemorate ; a post that justify further research ; posts you were collect to subsequently build out a ingathering inMoments(RIP ) ; a billionaire ’s most upsetting or pathetic berth , and more . No one could reasonably incriminate you of “ care ” the content because you were n’t clicking a core image , thus giving you plausible deniability .
When Twitter shifted from star to hearts , users were umbrageous . They sympathize that core conveyed an all different meaning , which impacted how they would use the societal web .
Wrote TechCrunch at the time , “ the ‘ corresponding ’ is limiting in what it allows a exploiter to express , ” while the Favorite function could think all sorts of thing , like a “ thank you , a handshake , a tip of the hat , or even a Robert De Niro gaze down . ” TechCrunch say then that the change from stars to nitty-gritty would n’t puzzle out Twitter ’s larger way out around growing its user base and create more appointment , and it for the most part did not . The companyhad to regain an exitquarter after quarter offlatgrowth .
As a final result of the backlash over the change , Twitterlater launched Bookmarksto contribute back a way to redeem something in camera , including those posts that you did n’t necessarily agree with , as well as those that you intended to reference again .
Now , as X is shifting the functionality around the “ like ” once again , many users are registering their disappointment . On X , people are intimate a variety of alternatives to this project variety , like making the likes private as an option , not a default , or long - pressing the heart icon to leave an anon. “ like . ” Others warned that privatize likes could lead to manipulation as creators employed armies of bot to hike up their subject and avail themgenerate revenue .
lol now bot are going to be harder to cut through . good job . 🙃
There ’s another solution , too , and it ’s one alluded to by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey . While we do n’t agree with much Dorsey has to say these days — that Nostr , for instance , isthe future of socialor that Bluesky issome sort of security review platform — on the like vs. stars debate , he ’s on to something .
Wrote Dorseyin a post on X : “ ‘ like’/ ❤ ️ was originally a ⭐ ️. we should have never moved by from that . ”
His post has over 700 ilk and many answer agree with the persuasion .
If what XTC is after is not adding more secrecy around user engagement functions but rathermore signals for its algorithm , it does n’t require to cover like . A round-eyed shift away from the pith icon — perhaps to a sensation ! — would be a much less dramatic change while accomplishing the same goal .
Yeah , we are make likes private . Public likes are incentivizing the wrong behavior . For example , many people feel discouraged from liking content that might be " edgy " in fear of retaliation from trolls , or to protect their public mental image . before long you ’ll be able to like without … https://t.co / vPGllc4pB0
