The psychology behind social engagement: What does it mean when you click the "Like" button?

Posted on September 13, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

Photo via Jeffisageek flickr
It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m thinking about the psychology of social engagement. Why do people “Like” comments / post and what does it mean, when they “Like” something. If you look a lot of popular social media sites such as Facebook, friendfeed and even video social networking sites like Vimeo all have a like button or link. Also with social commenting platforms such as Disqus, you can now even hit the “Like” button on comments. Even url shortener services have a “Like” button such as StumbleUpon’s su.pr

But what does it mean when you hit the “Like” button and why don’t we see a “Dislike” button. Twitter doesn’t even have a “Like” button or feature but when you ReTweet a tweet does that mean you actually saying that you “Like” it? The “Like” feature comes in various formats too. A lot of times you’ll see it as a “Thumbs up” or a “Heart” or just a text link saying “Like”. Some sites/blogs use stars for rating post or videos such as YouTube but they also use “Thumbs” for voting comments. Does stars mean you “Like” it and when you give a video 5 stars means you just “Like” it a lot?

Two services that really push the mentality of “Liking” a post are Slashdot and Digg. Slashdot uses the plus/minus feature if a reader “Likes” a post and Digg users created their own lingo so to speak as to when “Digg” something you “Like” it. Or are you saying I’m endorsing it when I “Digg” a post.

Sorry that I have more questions than answers but I’m sticking to my saying that “I don’t have all the answers but my social network does”. So with that being said here are a few more questions:

When you click on a “Like” link do you feel ad though as you are endorsing the content?
Do we really need a “Dislike” link?
Should Twitter add a “Like” feature?
Should Brightkite add a “Like” feature?
Should Facebook and Friendfeed add a “Dislike” link next to the “Like” button?
Why do you “Like” a post but won’t leave a comment”?
Do you “Like” this post? (he he)
Do you know the first site to add a “Like” button?

Here’s a look at various “Like” buttons from the web.

StumbleUpon with Like feature

Vimeo with Like feature (heart)

Facebook with Like feature

Friendfeed with Like feature

Digg’s Thumbs Up/Down in comments

Disqus Comments with Like feature

I’m not sure who started the “Like” social phenomenon of giving users a quick way of expression their stamp of approval for online content but it has been adopted by the social web community. Your thoughts?

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Written by Wayne Sutton

Wayne is the business development/marketing strategist for TriOut and partner at OurHashtag. For more, follow SocialWayne.com on Twitter, Buzz, and Facebook. Also check out the SocialWayne Podcast in iTunes. See all posts by Wayne Sutton.

Tags: Blogs brightkite comments community digg Facebook like like button like feature like something people psychology slashdot social engagement Social Media social web stumbleupon Twitter

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 13th, 2009 at 3:57 pm and is filed under Featured, Social Media, social networks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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September 13, 2009

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Robin said:

Hey Wayne,

I LIKE this post.

When I click the like button on a post, it’s because the content resonated with me. And often because I couldn’t have said it better myself, liking the post is enough.

I think it’s just another way to establish common ground in this big/small world of ours.

Robin
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September 13, 2009

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Critter said:

I usually click ‘Like’ because I cannot be bothered at the time to drop a comment.. *shrug*
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September 14, 2009

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Sebastian Küpers said:

just one remark: twitter has a like button. you can fav every tweet. it’s the star next to every tweet
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  September 14, 2009
  
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  Critter said:
  
  but under normal circumstances.. nobody knows you are ‘faving’ their tweet.. on Twitter, I would equate a retweet more to a like than a fave…by social media standards.. *shrug*
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    September 14, 2009
    
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    Wayne Sutton said:
    
    Thanks for the comments everyone. Duh I forgot about the favorite option in twitter but Critter you’re right, nobody knows if you fav. a tweet.
    
    I’m glad you “Like” the post
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September 14, 2009

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Sebastian Küpers said:

well there is of course a way to see that. there are services like http://favstar.fm/ you may wanna try out.

but true – you can’t really the that with twitter or tools like tweetdeck directly next to a tweet(yet)

but good post anyway just wanted to mention that.
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July 13, 2010

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RT @waynesutton:Blog Post: The psychology behind social engagement:wht does it mean when U hit the "Like" button? http://socialwayne.com/pye
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The psychology behind social engagement:What does it mean when you click the “Like” button? http://bit.ly/fudEx RT @pixum @Avinio @svartling
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The Psychology Behind Social Engagement: Clicking The “Like” Button – http://ow.ly/pdFq
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Wayne Sutton helps individuals, startups and businesses succeed in understanding how to communicate on the social web via brand strategy, social networks and location-based services. Wayne is the business development/marketing strategist for TriOut and partner at OurHashtag.