When Dean Allen shut down Favrd (a site that collected tweets and ranked the by number of likes), he said this:
"Alas, stars on Twitter have become mere take-out menus hung on the doors of other restaurants."
Meaning that, in his opinion, people were liking tweets simply to get their tiny avatar noticed, and perhaps earn a follow.
I'm trying to be conscious of that here. The fact that there are so few likes going around means each one gets noticed more.
I've definitely hit the star on a few toots and then noticed that person following me a few minutes later. It hasn't been intentional, but I've certainly had the dark impulse to go around, liking things willy-nilly to direct people to my profile.
Obviously it's a strategy that only some people will be comfortable with, and that will only work in the short-term, anyway. But it's interesting to look out for!
@aeonofdiscord It IS a lot of fun.
@aedison at this point it almost feels like favs are beacons just letting you know other people are out there
@aedison also "I've hit the star on a few toots" is the next great euphemism of our age
@aedison I am seeing if I can largely transfer my reflex-like tendency to star things here. I don't know if it carries the same weight, but you're right about that "like and follow" thing.
@aedison I do basically follow anyone who stars a post of mine because why not?
@aedison sometimes I just hit the star to see the little spinny animation