Ratings & Likes for SCN Blogs
I am writing this blog somewhat frustrated about the use of “Like” and “Ratings” of SCN Blog posts. My last three Posts have had just under 2,000 views but only had a total of 7 “Likes” and 4 people have taken the time to post a rating.
I don’t think my content is so bad that less than 0.5% of people reading them “Like” them so why these low numbers? I always rate SCN blogs using the Star Rating system and “Like” posts that I find interesting. Maybe the wider SCN Community are not aware of how to rate content or do not see a value in doing so.
Has anyone else noticed similar low figures with their content? For a new blogger or someone just starting out on SCN it could be very discouraging to think that no one appreciates or likes the content you have provided!
Comments welcome
Addition to Blog
An interesting idea from Tom:
Maybe a business case to build a mobile app which uses the blog feed and gives on screen options for liking and rating. (with credentials securely stored so you don’t have to login all the time)
Anyone willing to create a code-exchange project? I’m willing to contribute.”
If anyone is willing to contribute please let us know and we’ll run it passed those in charge at SCN!
Addition to Blog:
Please click the link to take part in the Poll on when you rate on SCN: http://scn.sap.com/polls/1343
I agree - I don't see much feedback either on my own stuff (although there isn't much of that:-) or on other peoples'. And this low level of feedback is especially worrying when it is meant to be the mechanism that replaces moderation as the way to separate the good from the bad content now. As far as I can see this is just not working.
I completely agree - I get hundreds (sometimes thousands) of views but not much on the ratings or likes.
I am taking the time to rate (5 stars) + like this post.
Thank you for doing this!
Tammy
Thanks Tammy / Steve. I did a trawl of some of the other bloggers and saw views in the 10's of thousands with only 10 Likes.
I agree with the community being used to rate good content but people need to partake otherwise it won't work and good bloggers will get fed up of thinking no one likes their posts!
I gotta say,
on the old SDN in 5 years I scored 9 points or something,
and since SDN moved to the new platform, only as a result of likes, I now have 85 points !
how cool is that ?
regarding likes, I've suggested there should be a don't like button too which removes points therefore creating a balance.
All the best,
Andy.
Good point Andy, and one that has been mentioned before. Like on the SAP Idea Place where you thumbs up or down an idea.
Thanks for commenting
Why I am reading this comment after 8 years 🙁
You get my rating too, Tim. And not because the squeaky wheel get's my oil, although I have been known to pay attention to valid squeaks (and some roars). 😉 But I believe that "likes" or "ratings" still pale in comparison to comments and I know it took eons before I got any of those in my posts. Usually getting comments is associated with empathy for what someone writes or dissent. with opinion, and they take time and effort. Not sure I "rate" the ratings as highly as I do the comments and deeper engagement. You seem to be getting a disproportionately high amount of attention for a relatively short blog (albeit with a clear and direct point.) That's pretty amazing. 😎 .
I guess you "rate" to be heard.
I do agree Marilyn, it's the more provocative posts or content that is against "the trend" that get attention / comments. There should still be a clear way for the informative or educational blogs to be rated if they do not attract a high number of comments. I think new SCN is still bedding in and will take a while before everyone uses it correctly!
Thanks for the comment
Tim,
I think you've hit the nail on the head,
' I think new SCN is still bedding in and will take a while before everyone uses it correctly!'
Apart from my love of the techy blogs I also like the thought provoking blogs like this.
Andy.
Is this an argument for having comments on blogs result in points for the blog author? They don't at the moment, do they?
IMO - The system falls down because:
1. As the SAP CEO predicts - We access this info more and more on mobile devices, and for me that means I use Twitter as the feed and Pocket on the iPhone to read anything that sparks my interest. (edit - Should have added - mobile access to SCN is coming - but sorely missed today - and for SCN people listening - please make sure I can rate and like on fast mobile screens)
2. And when I do use the desktop to look at blogs - automatic log in is still not working so it's just too hard to like something.
For example, Tammy wrote a great blog the other day about an ASUG webinar recap, and I had to make a mental note to go back into SCN, log-in, find the blog and rate it and like it. In other words, a like or rating is pretty rare now days, so treat them like gold while SCN falls short in these areas.
Good idea to use comments as a way of ranking too - but would imply that people would want a comment button with an optional (don't reward points) option for when you are completely disagreeing with a marketing blog for example.
Cheers,
matt
ps. Fix the above issues, and I think the solution would be awesome - eg. This is a good vision for the future still IMO, but it's poorly accessible today.
Maybe a business case to build a mobile app which uses the blog feed and gives on screen options for liking and rating. (with credentials securely stored so you don't have to login all the time)
Anyone willing to create a code-exchange project? I'm willing to contribute.
Hi Tom,
My thoughts exactly. Yes, mobile is coming with ratings and comments, and once it has been unleashed, I am certain you and other members of the community will quickly find the gaps in the solution. This is your opportunity for improving mobile access on SCN. Code Exchange seems to be a reasonable place to do this sort of project, and you are all welcome to contribute. First thing first... let's get mobile launched...
Regards,
Scott
Hi Tim,
Thank you for posting this! And thanks everyone else for bringing up the issues with mobile. Just last week I was assigned to lead a change management effort to get people to provide more feedback to blogs. It's good to understand the mobility barrier.
As to starting something for Code Exchange, an implementation of the mobility app is planned in the short term, and some mentors are working on making it even better than out-of-the-box. Take a look at Matt Johnson's blog, "What's Next for SCN in 2012". So I'd advise reaching out to Matt before moving forward on that.
In addition to the mobility factor, there are still several things to do to support community change from one of only reading or critiquing blogs to one of promoting them. Here are the things we talked about in a brainstorming session last week:
o Make June “Community Appreciate Month”
o Write a blog about it and have homepage feature for month of June.
o Ask moderators to share the message to their social followers (How important it is to share, rate, like good content.)
o Provide some incentive for people to rate and like. Maybe a “good citizen” award, get the badge for liking, sharing, good behavior. Need to avoid points gaming. (badge, charitable, group goal, others?)
o Other ways to incent members to like, rate, share, without giving them direct points?
· Ask moderators to find and feature good content. (Gali)
o Adding to featured content in the space
o Tell us who is acting as good community members – who is liking, sharing. Give recognition.
o Nominate for member of the month? Make it one factor.
o Ask moderators to share good content themselves. For moderators to like and rate good content.
If you have other ideas, please let me know...and watch for the blog to come out so that you can read it, rate it, comment on it, share it..... 🙂 (No, I'm not trying to game for points.)
Best regards,
Jeanne
Hey Tim,
Thanks for posting this blog. IPO funny because literally we were saying the exact same thing last week about huge view numbers but low likes, ratings, and shares. And as Jeanne mentions, we got together and came up with a list of actions (more beyond the list Jeanne shared) we'll be taking on over the coming weeks to improve this problem. ...and the mobile module is in addition to the list from last week.
Please continue to share your ideas and input. We are still fine-tuning the system and getting everyone aware and educated on how best to take advantage of the new platform for the community to grow and benefit.
Best,
Chip
Hi Chip, Thanks for commenting. The beauty of SCN is that it is for "The People" and without input from users how will you know what is working?
It's great to hear the plans for the future and also it says a lot about the people behind SCN that you took time to comment on this.
Tim
One thought I've just had. We have two ways of rating a blog - a star rating and a "like" button. Personally I find it difficult to assign a star rating to blogs, especially when they are written by people I know. I don't want to create a "Oh, he only gave me three stars" feeling. I'm happier with just the "like" button. How do others feel about this? Do we think we'll get enough people giving star ratings to make them worthwhile? Maybe going just with a "like" button, but making it more prominent (at the foot of the blog where the stars currently are), would work better?
Just thinking out loud...
Hi Steve,
actions speak louder than words.
I 'liked' your post 😉
Andy.
I agree Steve, people are far more comfortable with a Like as we're used to it on so many other forums. I think we need a few more months to let everything bed down on SCN and see what works and what doesn't. It is good that the powers at SCN are aware and monitoring this.
Hi Tim,
You raise a valid point. I am not an avid writer but when I recently wrote a blog it received over 1000 views but only 3 likes and 2 ratings. Although I did not think much of it initially, i do feel that any positive feedback helps encourage the writer..
Thanks for raising something that may have been going on in a lot of people's mind.
Vinay
The blog about Cloud and HCM? I read it and have rated & liked. It was interesting. Thanks for commenting
Cheers!
Hello Tim,
This blog actually calls for a poll .( Not sure if anyone has already started it).
Poll would be to vote when do people rate/like the content they read on SCN:
Hmmm...options could be (feel free to edit/add or even delete)
a) When I read the content completely and find it interesting.
b) I usually rate contents which add no value to poor or below average.
c) Sorry, I am a silent user of SCN.
d) When author is known to me 😏
e) I usually see the blogs via tweets on twitter and read the content without logging. Rating requires logging with which lies issues.
You may let me know your opinion here.
Regards,
Kumud
Hi - I like this idea. I will do something this week, thanks for the suggestion
The poll is live: http://scn.sap.com/polls/1343?pollSuccess=true
Yeah. Just submitted my response there. Thanks.
Regards,
Kumud
It took me a while to discover this blog. I searched for this topic because of
I think we should try to rate content with the star system in a direct relation to the content regardless of how much you like the author.
If there is a blog talking about interesting stuff but delivered without any formatting and in a hard to read style than I may Like it but may rate it only 3 stars.
And if everyone only rates things 5 stars or not at all than we dismiss the possibility of encouraging people to try harder.
I do agree. It also depends on where a blog is posted as to how many people comment / like it. I post a lot in the Business One space and blogs with 1,200+ views can get no likes, comments or ratings yet in "About SCN" everyone gets involved!
I've noticed you can go onto a blog, and 18 people have bookmarked the blog and 3 people have clicked like.
In my book, if somebody bookmarks a blog, that's as good as a like.
What about linking the two, everytime somebody clicks bookmark the like is incremented by one.
Andy.
I do agree. I am also still seeing blogs with hundreds of views and comments like "Great blog" and "Thanks for the useful info" but no ratings or Likes! This does vary dramatically depending on which space you post something in.
I wonder if that's people hoping for "likes", and therefore points, on their comment?
I'm not sure about that. I bookmark things that I want to read or comment on later. That doesn't mean they are good. It just means I don't have time right now. Some things I bookmark are exactly the opposite of good, and I just want to take some time to compose an appropriate response.
Hi Tim,
Wanted to write this blog post since a couple of weeks, but didn't make time for it yet. Dabbling through old RSS-feeds I stumbled upon this blog post. Thanks for writing it, saves me some time 🙂 .
Of course I totally agree: can't understand why people don't rate and like more blog posts when they do indeed read them. I also don't understand the difference in nr of ratings and number of likes, even for blog posts with an average rating of 4+ stars, which should mean (should it really??) that both apply.
Cheers, Fred
Hi,
old (but very good) blog, but unfortunately the problem still exists!
Best regards
Willi Eimler
Yep, still the same. I wonder if Jeanne Carboni could shed some light on what happened with those action items back in 2012 and what's the plan for SCN 3.0 ? As we see from 2015, humanity is not getting any more generous or considerate. 🙂