I recently learned that Instagram will remove the public follower like count on user’s posts in an effort to improve the quality of connections, conversations, and community amongst its user base.  The topic of likes versus replies or comments also came up in the Micro Monday episode 69 podcast where I think the two women both agreed that replies and comments provide a better and more meaningful connected between community members.  I agree and wanted to share two recent experiences I’ve had in trying to create more meaningful connections and conversations on Twitter and LinkedIn.

A few weeks ago, I posted the following on LinkedIn, “What is the one thing you wish your company had provided or covered during your new hire orientation?”  I added not to provide one’s opinion, but to base it on your actual experience.  I received a total of six responses out of the ~1,000 people I’m connected to.  Four of the responses were Likes and two were Comments.  Pretty poor outcome.  The two actual comments I received were from a husband and wife that I interact with in the real world.

A week ago, I posted the following on Twitter, “I am building a ‘Feel Good’ playlist on Spotify and need your help.  Will you please send me the one song that puts you into a great mood?”  I received about the same number of responses, however, I did get more actual comments.

This morning, I posted, “Twitter friends, do you follow/read any interesting independent blogs?  I am building an RSS feed and need more sources.”  Although I just posted it, I don’t expect much of a response.

I can think of two reasons for the poor responses:  1) The feed itself - Many people never see the post; and 2) It is simply easier to like something and move on than to think about it, formulate a response, and reply.  Not earth shattering, I know.  But if we want to establish better connections and engage in more meaningful conversations, I agree that devaluing likes and encouraging comments and replies might help.

Resources:

[later.com/blog/hidd...]([later.com/blog/hidd...](https://later.com/blog/hidden-likes-instagram/)

[monday.micro.blog/2019/10/0...](https://monday.micro.blog/2019/10/01/episode-jeannie-mcgeehan.html)