Sincere thanks to all my Co-likers and special mention to the 'LIKE VERIYANS' who made this NOTE possible!!
The ‘Thumbs up’ symbol or the LIKE in Facebook is not just a button but a way of life, an occupation for “omnipresent” ppl like me. A LIKE, can be called as the free hug of Facebook (FB), as it doesn’t cost a penny but makes the beneficiary feel good. No wonder every page in FB needs to be "LIKED" before proceeding further.
My journey in FB started off by exploring what it had to offer and how it differed from Orkut. The ‘LIKE’ was one of the few features that hogged my attention immediately. Gradually, I observed that in Facebook, wherever fun happened the ‘LIKE’ always complemented it. This was when I started pursuing studies in Likeology- The study of Likes, to get a Bachelor’s degree in Facebook Engineering :P
I have classified my studies into 2 categories, the struggle and the secret for success. In the ‘struggle part’ I have tried to elucidate the common problems, for statuses being deprived of LIKES. On the other part I have listed few solutions that could hopefully boost the LIKE rate.
Struggle
In the early days of my "Facebooking career" when LIKE was awarded only for statuses, I had no complaints. It was a customary practice for people to LIKE gud statuses and leave a decent comment complimenting it. But then came the ‘LIKE SLIDE’. With the advancement of LIKE option for comments, the trend changed from friends “Just Liking” to Liking the status and trying to key in those “LIKE fetching” comments. As gurunaadhar Vadivelu once said “Panga podu maapla panga podu”, the LIKEs meant for status started to get distributed between a good status and an even better 1st comment.
In order to post a decent status i.e. garnering at least 1/20th of likes from your friends’ circle (35 likes from 700 friends) there are lots of factors to be considered, the chief one being “The first comment”. They are so powerful tat they play the role of a DISLIKE button :D
In case you feel the status could be ruined by the 1st comment, do not retaliate by being harsh on them. This pulls down the chances of getting LIKES from such people in the future. Keep your cool and retort in a friendly manner so that the person becomes a ‘life member’ in your profile :P. On the flip side one can also think of letting people ruin the statuses, there by encouraging more friends to participate. This is how the group called “LIKE VERIYANS” emerged in my profile :D
Ever since this group emerged, they broke my FB wall and built a party hall. Friends came, shared posts, tagged people, got likes and finally signed out. My friends circle started sending requests within themselves, thus forming an ARMY OF LIKE VERIYANS .
The next important factor is thinking twice before posting a forward as your status. This is a double edged sword as it can make you an overnight hero or an outstanding zero. Remember to “always have the courtesy to put courtesy” in case of using forwards. By doing so at least 1st comments such as “Courtesy enga da nayae?”, “Yaarkittendhu sutta” , “Idha nee sondhama yoschiya?” etc can be prevented :D. However, good forwards from female friends insure us from courtesy threats :P . An example of one such status “Dear Mother-in-law, don’t teach me how to handle my children. I am living with one of urs and he needs a lot of improvement”!. These also make the female friends in your circle LIKE your statuses :P .
P.S – Posting own statuses are always the best and risk free, but mokka vaangina….? Better luck next time.
Posting a status at the right moment is also a vital factor for deciding the LIKE trend. When one gets deprived of likes, status after status, it is better for him to be resilient and post a LIKE potential status when his “Status Destroyers” are offline :D. Sometimes going offline as soon as you post a status, increases the chance of getting likes. Since the ‘target’ (person updating status) is offline, the status destroyers MIGHT have a soft corner and not punish you :P
The secrets for success
Getting off the mark in this LIKE venture is not as easy as it sounds. Yet, by befriending “Professional Likers” such as myself , you are ensured of LIKES irrespective of status and comments u post :P . Remember that ‘Likers’ around us constantly change. Some leave for jobs, some for pursuing Masters, college re opens for some and rest are like me :P. So maintaining a healthy ‘LIKE Rate’ in all circumstances becomes a challenge. The ‘Professional Likers’ take care of this too :P. Hence it is important to identify such people in your circle.
Giving updates whenever super hit movies are aired and posting dialogues from famous comedy scenes are super effective. Also updating crucial instances in IPL, important tennis grandslam matches or any other sport that people follow are always consecrated with LIKES. These statuses instantly grab the attention of the people and get noticed by a larger section. Enacting programs such as ‘Niiya Nana’ selecting a hilarious topic are also actively participated by friends. Tagging great Icons whenever they appear on television channels is also a very good technique . Eg @Rahman interview in NDTV. @Karthik singer, awesome singing in Vijay tv. Friends who are ardent fans of such icons tend to like these kind of statuses :D
At times, the ‘via’ gra rule i.e. sharing someone’s noteworthy status by tagging their name is an essential component for encouraging people and gaining ‘EXTRA’ likes as the rule name suggests :P . “Tag today, Get tagged tomorrow” is the mantra to be followed if the statuses are to reach new heights and for you to get acquainted to new people.
Never try to outwit your friends in your own profile especially in the initial stages of your LIKE venture. Target others’ status to show how witty or sarcastic you are. Try gaining LIKEs for your comments. Constantly doing so makes people notice you. This can also be an alternate way to get to know friends of friends.
The Caring and Sharing technique: Make sure you grant likes for your friends’ statuses and care for their profile too (Give and take policy). This is useful when extreme ‘LIKE drought’ condition prevails :P
The Study has also been extended to the Video links and Photos shared. It was found that Gud videos within 1 minute duration fared well in getting likes. Durations from 1- 3 minutes depends on the content of the video. Videos over 3 minutes need a really good caption to survive :P . Funny Photos shared or those portraying sarcasm are everyone's favorite. So if statuses are not working your way, shift to the youtube mode :P.
To conclude, I have realised that "LIKE" is a never ending topic and I am still exploring the trend of likes on a daily basis. These are some of my experiences after clicking the sign in button of Facebook.
P.S - Idhukku "LIKE" podama poravan "ratthan gakki chaavan!!"...:D
The ‘Thumbs up’ symbol or the LIKE in Facebook is not just a button but a way of life, an occupation for “omnipresent” ppl like me. A LIKE, can be called as the free hug of Facebook (FB), as it doesn’t cost a penny but makes the beneficiary feel good. No wonder every page in FB needs to be "LIKED" before proceeding further.
My journey in FB started off by exploring what it had to offer and how it differed from Orkut. The ‘LIKE’ was one of the few features that hogged my attention immediately. Gradually, I observed that in Facebook, wherever fun happened the ‘LIKE’ always complemented it. This was when I started pursuing studies in Likeology- The study of Likes, to get a Bachelor’s degree in Facebook Engineering :P
I have classified my studies into 2 categories, the struggle and the secret for success. In the ‘struggle part’ I have tried to elucidate the common problems, for statuses being deprived of LIKES. On the other part I have listed few solutions that could hopefully boost the LIKE rate.
Struggle
In the early days of my "Facebooking career" when LIKE was awarded only for statuses, I had no complaints. It was a customary practice for people to LIKE gud statuses and leave a decent comment complimenting it. But then came the ‘LIKE SLIDE’. With the advancement of LIKE option for comments, the trend changed from friends “Just Liking” to Liking the status and trying to key in those “LIKE fetching” comments. As gurunaadhar Vadivelu once said “Panga podu maapla panga podu”, the LIKEs meant for status started to get distributed between a good status and an even better 1st comment.
In order to post a decent status i.e. garnering at least 1/20th of likes from your friends’ circle (35 likes from 700 friends) there are lots of factors to be considered, the chief one being “The first comment”. They are so powerful tat they play the role of a DISLIKE button :D
In case you feel the status could be ruined by the 1st comment, do not retaliate by being harsh on them. This pulls down the chances of getting LIKES from such people in the future. Keep your cool and retort in a friendly manner so that the person becomes a ‘life member’ in your profile :P. On the flip side one can also think of letting people ruin the statuses, there by encouraging more friends to participate. This is how the group called “LIKE VERIYANS” emerged in my profile :D
Ever since this group emerged, they broke my FB wall and built a party hall. Friends came, shared posts, tagged people, got likes and finally signed out. My friends circle started sending requests within themselves, thus forming an ARMY OF LIKE VERIYANS .
The next important factor is thinking twice before posting a forward as your status. This is a double edged sword as it can make you an overnight hero or an outstanding zero. Remember to “always have the courtesy to put courtesy” in case of using forwards. By doing so at least 1st comments such as “Courtesy enga da nayae?”, “Yaarkittendhu sutta” , “Idha nee sondhama yoschiya?” etc can be prevented :D. However, good forwards from female friends insure us from courtesy threats :P . An example of one such status “Dear Mother-in-law, don’t teach me how to handle my children. I am living with one of urs and he needs a lot of improvement”!. These also make the female friends in your circle LIKE your statuses :P .
P.S – Posting own statuses are always the best and risk free, but mokka vaangina….? Better luck next time.
Posting a status at the right moment is also a vital factor for deciding the LIKE trend. When one gets deprived of likes, status after status, it is better for him to be resilient and post a LIKE potential status when his “Status Destroyers” are offline :D. Sometimes going offline as soon as you post a status, increases the chance of getting likes. Since the ‘target’ (person updating status) is offline, the status destroyers MIGHT have a soft corner and not punish you :P
The secrets for success
Getting off the mark in this LIKE venture is not as easy as it sounds. Yet, by befriending “Professional Likers” such as myself , you are ensured of LIKES irrespective of status and comments u post :P . Remember that ‘Likers’ around us constantly change. Some leave for jobs, some for pursuing Masters, college re opens for some and rest are like me :P. So maintaining a healthy ‘LIKE Rate’ in all circumstances becomes a challenge. The ‘Professional Likers’ take care of this too :P. Hence it is important to identify such people in your circle.
Giving updates whenever super hit movies are aired and posting dialogues from famous comedy scenes are super effective. Also updating crucial instances in IPL, important tennis grandslam matches or any other sport that people follow are always consecrated with LIKES. These statuses instantly grab the attention of the people and get noticed by a larger section. Enacting programs such as ‘Niiya Nana’ selecting a hilarious topic are also actively participated by friends. Tagging great Icons whenever they appear on television channels is also a very good technique . Eg @Rahman interview in NDTV. @Karthik singer, awesome singing in Vijay tv. Friends who are ardent fans of such icons tend to like these kind of statuses :D
At times, the ‘via’ gra rule i.e. sharing someone’s noteworthy status by tagging their name is an essential component for encouraging people and gaining ‘EXTRA’ likes as the rule name suggests :P . “Tag today, Get tagged tomorrow” is the mantra to be followed if the statuses are to reach new heights and for you to get acquainted to new people.
Never try to outwit your friends in your own profile especially in the initial stages of your LIKE venture. Target others’ status to show how witty or sarcastic you are. Try gaining LIKEs for your comments. Constantly doing so makes people notice you. This can also be an alternate way to get to know friends of friends.
The Caring and Sharing technique: Make sure you grant likes for your friends’ statuses and care for their profile too (Give and take policy). This is useful when extreme ‘LIKE drought’ condition prevails :P
The Study has also been extended to the Video links and Photos shared. It was found that Gud videos within 1 minute duration fared well in getting likes. Durations from 1- 3 minutes depends on the content of the video. Videos over 3 minutes need a really good caption to survive :P . Funny Photos shared or those portraying sarcasm are everyone's favorite. So if statuses are not working your way, shift to the youtube mode :P.
To conclude, I have realised that "LIKE" is a never ending topic and I am still exploring the trend of likes on a daily basis. These are some of my experiences after clicking the sign in button of Facebook.
P.S - Idhukku "LIKE" podama poravan "ratthan gakki chaavan!!"...:D
Thala kalaku da !!!
ReplyDeleteIdhuvallavo aaraychiyin ucha kattam :D
ReplyDeleteSema thala........inga like irundha like pannirupen....
ReplyDelete