Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Alternate Meanings of a Facebook Post "Like"

15 people like chemical explosion injuries?
Chances are you understand the basic intended meaning of a Facebook post "like" when it's used to give a pat on the back, a thumbs up or a high five. Things can get tricky, however, when the original post is not something fun, funny, informative or interesting. Here are six common alternatives to the standard Facebook post like:
  1. Agreement: Whether a post is positive or negative, sometimes a thumbs up is a form of agreement rather than an enthusiastic validation.
  2. Saving for Later: People who are familiar with how their activity log works often like a post so that they can come back and see it later. 
  3. Sarcasm: When a friend is vaguebooking or whining, likes can convey sarcasm or mockery.
  4. Sympathy: For posts conveying bad news, a like can indicate sympathy.
  5. Confused Page Like: Often when people post an update to ask their friends to like a Page, their friends who don't know better will like the post instead.
  6. Call to Action Response: "Click like if you hate being asked to click like all the time!"
The trick to identifying these alternative meanings is to look at the context of the original post. What other meanings do you see in your Facebook News Feed? Leave a comment below.