RayVillian
DisLiking the Like system
That is precisely why I love tumblr, it has an impersonal-personal connection. Reblogging is the head nod of conversation. Silent poetic acceptance and agreeance.
I love the Tumblr platform so I think it’s important to be critical of it. I’d be hard pressed to find a feature that has more flaws than the Like system.
I realize that Liking is optional, that the ability to reblog is still there but the mere presence of the Like system gives the user a second option. Tumblr, in my experience, has been all about spreading content you like with your followers through reblogging. Liking simply lets you make a note for that user that their content was appreciated. In my opinion that defeats Tumblr’s purpose.
Tumblr is different in that there are two appearances: one from the outside looking in with no knowledge of how Tumblr works and one from the inside with a knowledge of how the system and the users operate. Liking serves neither purpose. People on the outside can’t see what you like and if they could, why would they care? They visit your site for your content, reblogging takes others’ content and allows the user to put their own twist on it. Liking does not.
Initially I thought that Liking was going to be Tumblr’s ‘bookmark system’ where users could Like a post and come back to it at a later time for reblogging. This isn’t the case. If you go to http://www.tumblr.com/like, it redirects to the Dashboard meaning that Liking is not a bookmarking system.
I’m sure that after a certain amount of Likes the user’s content is recommended to the Tumblr editors for possible exposure on Tumblr Explore. I’m sure some users are content with Likes but not me, I want reblogs. I want reblogs because it allows my content and my material to spread to a wider audience, that of the rebloggers. Every time my words hit your page your audience is exposed to what I have to say. I’m sure other Tumblr users feel this way which is why some are being outspoken and critical of the Like system.
In conclusion, Liking is a flawed feature that undermines what Tumblr initially has set out to do. It makes blogging impersonal again whereas reblogging adds a sense of relationship between two or more users. If Tumblr plans to keep the Like system, it needs to be pulled and redesigned to enhance Tumblr’s functionality, not to undermine it.
