To like or dislike - or neither - on YT - asking your opinion ???

  1. Ginny Aitchison
    Ginny Aitchison
    I am asking for your opinion on You Tube's like and dislike options. The other option being do nothing, and I wonder if I have been doing it wrong all these years.
    For every Mandolin Cafe member and also for anyone I subscribe to - that video gets a comment and a like from me. No question. ( with some who post everyday sometimes I miss one)
    We all know that likes (and dislikes) affect the algorithms, as do comments. So do you as individuals have reasons for not hitting the 'like' button?
    The reason I am asking is because someone told me that if you 'like' a video it messes with the YT recommended 'playlists' or "your mixes". (which I ignore anyway)

    We all know the lengths we go to to make videos, and I've always tried to at least acknowledge that with a like and a comment...so am I doing it wrong?

    Thanks - looking forward to your thoughts !
  2. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Great question Ginny, there are loads of things and it’s complicated.

    I’d start by saying that I generally ‘like’ all vids on YT that have been posted from all of you guys -if I’m signed in at the time. It really takes a tiny fraction of a second and for me it’s just a curtesy, an acknowledgement, like just saying hi while passing through. But, whatever, people are different. I also have my own ‘likes’ hidden so that people can’t look at my various likes and get the wrong idea about why I like other vids. That’s happened many, many times.
  3. Brian560
    Brian560
    I also tend to hit the like button for YT content that I subscribe to. The exception is that depending where I am opening up the video from and what device I am using, I might not always be automatically signed into YT. You have to be signed in to like or comment, and to sign in on some devices requires switching apps which isn't always simple. In those cases I will add a like to the feed the video original appeared on, or try to listen on a desktop PC at a later time where liking and commenting is easier.
  4. Michael Pastucha
    Michael Pastucha
    Likes are good... there are like candy. This alone will mean that other videos like it will be placed into your feed on your YouTube channel. Another important measure to take to steer your channel to tunes and songs you would listen to is to subscribe to a channel you really like. Like Ginny's channel for instance.

    Now YouTube likes to put all kinds of videos in my feed, so if I don't like something they suggest, it is an easy fix... I just tell them I don't want that channel or video anymore. On the YouTube app for iPad you just put your finger on the video and hold it there until a menu pops up that allows you some choices... such as I don't like the video, don't show this channel etc. You can make these kinds of selections on other YouTube platforms, such as pc or mac etc. However it is a slightly different procedure. As long as you are logged into your channel you can weed out those annoying political ads or whatever else you'd like to limit on your feed. It puts you sort of in command of what you see on your channel.
  5. Bertram Henze
    Bertram Henze
    I am not overly proliferous with likes, I must admit. On channels I usually frequent or subscribed to, I do not like every video, because not every video is equally good. But if I see a good video, I give it a like even without subscribing, and would even like to like some more than once.

    On the other hand, YT remembers what I liked, and I wouldn't let it needlessly know my every preference, so sometimes I don't give a like even if i like it
  6. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    I am more of a "comments" than a "like" person as far as YT goes, and I always try to add a comment on any SAW group posting here on the Cafe, though I do not always go to that person's YT channel. If you click on the "like" tab it adds that video to your "Liked Videos" and I do not always want this to happen. Equally I get feedback telling me someone "liked" or even "loved" my comment, which I do not really need to know as I only comment favourably so assume the party concerned will like my comment anyway. As Michale says, Likes are good, like candy! We post and we are always pleased that someone makes the effort to comment favourably, either here or on YT. I must admit I look at SAW first always.
  7. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    I take it at its word, and hit the like button for everything I like, and I think that does the person who has crafted the content the best service. It's good to get a sense of whether people actually enjoy a video you make and would like to see more like that, and if people use the like button honestly then you can use that feedback - whereas if everyone is just blindly "liking" everything, it's nice and polite but it doesn't help you much.

    Every now and then someone takes the time to "dislike" one of my videos, which always makes me laugh.
  8. Jess L.
    Jess L.
    My own mandolin videos very seldom get any Likes. Maybe the Likes get lost in transit.

    Or I could just suck at mandolin.

    Views are more concerning than likes, as far as incentive to make more videos. Mandolincafe does not generate much viewership, if that's the only place a video is posted.

    I have not yet sold my soul to Facebook, so I don't cross-post there (or anywhere else) to rack up more Views and Likes.

    But of course there are other possible explanations for lack of Views and Likes, including that I keep forgetting to don my corset and jackboots to give viewers something to look at besides just a mandolin and some anonymous skinny little pale hands.

    Most of my YouTube subscribers don't want to hear me play mandolin anyway, they subscribed because they want more software/tech tutorials or more sheet music or more Star Trek clips (yes, seriously). There are some exceptions but not very many. It's one of those "it is what it is" things, I guess. I'm starting to get used to it by now.

    As to giving Likes or writing YouTube comments, I only do that if something is exceptionally awesome. Most times I'm not logged in to YouTube anyway, but even if I was I wouldn't hand out Likes or YouTube comments gratuitously on every single video a person did because that would seem a little stalker-ish and creepy. Although I'm old, maybe I just don't understand social media.


    David (OldSausage) wrote: "Every now and then someone takes the time to "dislike" one of my videos, which always makes me laugh."

    Some people will dislike anything, even Bill Monroe. Maybe they wanted it in the key of A# minor but your key signature was Bb minor. Or maybe they fell asleep with their phone in their hand, and in addition to accidentally ordering 2600 dog collars from Amazon and sending "Be Right Back" autotexts to their boss (or their ex!) at 3:00am, they might have also inadvertently tapped some YouTube buttons.

    - Jess
  9. Ginny Aitchison
    Ginny Aitchison
    Thank you for your thoughts. I hope I'm not being creepy by commenting. Or liking. I always like someone's posts because they have taken the time to find a song, write it out, learn it, find accompaniment or play accompaniment, set up all the recording gadgets, put on a clean shirt or search for hours for the right photo show. I know how all of that works and I like that they have done it. I know a few of us here cross-post to Facebook - although it really doesn't generate many views - but like here - we get to know each other, just not as well. Nor do we have as much fun. Thank you everyone - and feel free to keep this open, it is interesting, at least to me.
  10. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    I think commenting and liking is fine, and always appreciated (at least by me). If the uploader doesn't want it, either or both of these functions can be disabled.

    As far ar Youtube's algorithms are concerned, they are affected by likes in two ways: the likes you give influence what suggestions the site will give you for other videos you may want to watch, and the likes a video receives influences how often (and to whom) the video is recommended. This is a positive feedback loop in that a video that has many likes will be presented to a lot of other viewers and then racks up more likes (and views).

    Popularity doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the quality of the video, and the reasons why some are popular and others are not is maddingly opaque. As far as my own channel is concerned, my most popular video is my recording of the renaissance dance tune "La Mantovana", uploaded on 13 December 2015. It's currently on 70,000 views (small fry in Youtube terms, of course), with 1100 likes and 240 comments. Four days later, on 17 December 2015, I uploaded another renaissance dance tune with almost the same title "Ballo di Mantova", and not obviously worse played or recorded. Currently on 902 views with 2 likes and no comments...

    Martin
  11. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Like Martin and David, I keep it simple: I'm pleased when someone likes or comments on my videos, and I click "Like" when I like something. This probably prompts the YouTube algorithm to recommend more mandolin videos to me, which is a good thing.

    There are exceptions. For example, if I first come across a video here - embedded in a post - I can't "like" it without watching it again on YouTube. Often, I do just that because I like (in the original sense of the word) the recording. But I don't always have enough time. So I may comment positively on a video here, but not "like" (in the YouTube sense) the video on YouTube.
  12. Kevin B
    Kevin B
    I don’t get many likes or comments so I always appreciate your kind comments. I personally like most of the music videos I watch.
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