# Has anyone gone from writing reviews to just clicking 'Like'?



## thesmallprint (May 25, 2012)

A small straw poll, and I'm not at all sure it will prove anything. With time becoming more valuable to many (often driven by getting used to instant 'results' when using the internet, imo) I wonder if people who used to take time to write a book review will become increasingly inclined to just log in and click the Like button?

Joe


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

I have not.  I find the like feature on amazon to be pretty meaningless.  On facebook, liking something can lead to getting discounts, info before anyone else, and exclusive's in general.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

I don't review on Amazon. On Goodreads, you can't just like the book but you can like other reviews and if I think someone else's review says exactly what I think and says it better than I was going to, I may just like theirs instead of reviewing it myself. But that doesn't happen very often.



lacymarankevinmichael said:


> I have not. I find the like feature on amazon to be pretty meaningless. On facebook, liking something can lead to getting discounts, info before anyone else, and exclusive's in general.


If you use Amazon Betterizer: http://www.amazon.com/gp/betterizer - likes are not meaningless.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

Don't remember ever clicking a "like" button on Amazon.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Don't leave reviews.  Don't click 'like'.  Not on FB either, at least not on purpose.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

history_lover said:


> If you use Amazon Betterizer: http://www.amazon.com/gp/betterizer - likes are not meaningless.


When I first saw the 'betterizer' I thought -- oh, that's cool, let's try it. But all they offer you is books (paper ones), music, and videos. And I don't want recommendations for those things. If it included a Kindle Books section, I'd no doubt be 'liking' up a storm. As it is, it doesn't help me at all.


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## kansaskyle (Sep 14, 2010)

I continue to review books on Goodreads.  

I used to post reviews on Amazon as well, but I got tired of the extra hassle.  I find reading other reviews helpful especially the 3 star reviews as I like to see why people didn't gush all over a book.  Those seem more real to me.


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## anne_holly (Jun 5, 2011)

I hardly ever remember to hit the "like" on Amazon (nor do I review there). On GR, I leave a star rating if it's a book I read before joining, or a rating and review if it's a book I've just finished, but I seldom do the "like" thing since it shares to my FB page. I'm not sure my FB friends need to know all the books I simply "like" without a rating or review. I do "like" on FB quite often, when I find something useful or I want to give a little acknowledgement but I don't have the time/inclination to leave a real response (or I'm on the phone and don't want the person on the other end to know I'm cruising FB while they talk at me).

I've never even been sure what "likes" do on Amazon. (Thanks for the betterizer thingy link. I wasn't aware of that.)


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## Alpha72 (May 9, 2012)

I click on the lick button from time to time.

My big question is whether or not it really makes a difference?


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

The 'like' button is used by Amazon to make recommendations to you. So if you clicked 'like' on, say, a dozen romantic novels, you're likely to find that Amazon will recommend umpteen more romantic novels every time you log in. 

Not sure to what extent having a lot of 'likes' is helpful to an author.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

Sam Kates said:


> The 'like' button is used by Amazon to make recommendations to you. So if you clicked 'like' on, say, a dozen romantic novels, you're likely to find that Amazon will recommend umpteen more romantic novels every time you log in.
> 
> Not sure to what extent having a lot of 'likes' is helpful to an author.


That was my understanding of the 'like' button as well. I'll only click it if it's in a genre that I'd like to read more of. I get enough 'recommendations' from Amazon as it is. I've heard of authors 'working' with each other to 'like' each others books on Amazon, but I don't really see how this benefits the author. I wouldn't buy a book based on the number of 'likes' it has. Does anyone know why this would be advantageous to the author? I'd be interested to know.


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## Blueboy (Dec 31, 2012)

As a new author I am desperate for actual reviews from people that have read my book to see what I can do to make sure my next one is even better. It is so frustrating to receive tweets or even emails from people saying they have enjoyed my book but then not leaving a review on Amazon to give others an idea of whether or not it is worth them investing their time in. Because in reality, with the prices of most new books being in the pence or free, that is what you are actually asking of the reader, that they invest their time. A pretty rare commodity these days. So do us all a favour, just let us, and the public, know what you thought of it. Please.

_sorry, self promotion not allowed in the Book Corner -- Ann/KB Moderator_


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

Blueboy said:


> It is so frustrating to receive tweets or even emails from people saying they have enjoyed my book but then not leaving a review on Amazon to give others an idea of whether or not it is worth them investing their time in.


I agree. Although I treasure those positive comments, a review would be extra nice. I've yet to become comfortable requesting them. It's a bit tricky.


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## Adele Ward (Jan 2, 2012)

I click Like now as I realised recently how important it is to help authors in the rankings. I also try to write a review even if it's only one sentence for the same reason. It's a pity people don't support authors more in these little ways as it does help bring good authors and books to a wider audience if they move up in the rankings.  If I look at any books I've enjoyed and see I haven't clicked Like yet, I click it straight away.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I tend to like writing reviews if I like the book enough to want to leave a comment.  I tend not to leave negative reviews on Amazon.


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## boblenx (Sep 4, 2010)

I always leave a short review when I read a book by a living author. I only click LIKE if it is a genre I am interested in to have Amazon suggest books to me.



Adele Ward said:


> I click Like now as I realised recently how important it is to help authors in the rankings. I also try to write a review even if it's only one sentence for the same reason. It's a pity people don't support authors more in these little ways as it does help bring good authors and books to a wider audience if they move up in the rankings.  If I look at any books I've enjoyed and see I haven't clicked Like yet, I click it straight away.


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## StephenBrennan (Dec 21, 2012)

As an author I don't mind the "Like" button on Amazon.  I like it better than the Goodreads system which allows people to leave a star rating without actually saying anything.  If I don't know what people didn't enjoy in my book, it's hard to improve


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Reminder: we're in the Book Corner. Please answer as a _reader_ -- do you do reviews, or click 'like' or what. If you are interested in discussing the merits of doing so, or encouraging others to do so, from the point of view of an Author, well, that discussion comes up pretty regularly over in the Writer's Cafe. 

Happy New Year!


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Reminder: we're in the Book Corner. Please answer as a _reader_ -- do you do reviews, or click 'like' or what. If you are interested in discussing the merits of doing so, or encouraging others to do so, from the point of view of an Author, well, that discussion comes up pretty regularly over in the Writer's Cafe.
> 
> Happy New Year!


Agreed, those discussions usually leave me the impression the author thinks I work for them.


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## Guest (Jan 1, 2013)

As a reader I don't click "Like" because I don't use Facebook. However the restriction saying that you have to leave a review rather than just a star rating puts me off leaving any feedback at all, since with some rather bland books there really isn't anything to say.


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## Adele Ward (Jan 2, 2012)

You don't have to be on Facebook to click the Like button beside the title of a book you like. Clicking the Like button just shows how many people have enjoyed a book enough to click this button. It also helps move the book up in the rankings, so if other readers are looking for a book in this genre, you help them find it by adding to its Likes. Sometimes readers search for a book according to price, or if it's new, but sometimes they sort according to rankings and the Like button is part of this. Or so I was told so I do always click Like by the titles of books I enjoy.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

VH Folland said:


> As a reader I don't click "Like" because I don't use Facebook. However the restriction saying that you have to leave a review rather than just a star rating puts me off leaving any feedback at all, since with some rather bland books there really isn't anything to say.


The Like button on Amazon has nothing to do with Facebook. After hitting the Like button, it does give you the option to share it on a number of social networking sites, including Facebook, but it's completely optional and one only needs an Amazon account to use the Amazon Like button.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=pd_like_help_dp?ie=UTF8&nodeId=13316081#like


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## Grace Elliot (Mar 14, 2011)

I do my best to write a review after finishing a book. I find it focusses my attention during the read (what was the name of the hero's brother with the annoying lisp?) and makes me analyse the book more than I would have done otherwise. I rarely click 'like' - unless it's a genre I actually like!


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## Adele Ward (Jan 2, 2012)

I often mean to write a review but have so many things in my head that I want to say that I keep putting it off until I have more time. I know I should write just a couple of sentences rather than writing nothing. Even a brief review is helpful in all sorts of ways.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

I don't write reviews and I very rarely click the "like" button. I'm one of "those people" that only uses the stars on Goodreads. I don't do it for anybody's benefit except my own. 

1 star - utter crap, I can't believe I wasted my money on this drivel
2 stars - didn't like it (but doesn't quite fall to the level of utter crap)
3 stars - it was ok
4 stars - I really liked it
5 stars - I absolutely love this book and will recommend it to all of my friends


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Luvmy4brats said:


> 1 star - utter crap, I can't believe I wasted my money on this drivel
> 2 stars - didn't like it (but doesn't quite fall to the level of utter crap)
> 3 stars - it was ok
> 4 stars - I really liked it
> 5 stars - I absolutely love this book and will recommend it to all of my friends


I've gotten very stingy with 5 stars on goodreads and on my amazon reviews. I think it may be a response to all these books that are passable but with a majority of 5 stars reviews on them. In my mind, 5-stars are only those books I think are absolutely fantastic and so most books I enjoy end up being 3 or 4-stars, depending on the level of enjoyment.

I haven't done many 'likes' on Amazon and I've never really seen the ones I have marked impacting my recommendations that much. But, I'm not really that much of a fan of amazon's recommendation algorithms as they are really fairly basic. Just because I buy one book by an author doesn't mean I want to immediately buy their entire bibliography ... Or, just because I buy one kindle monthly deal doesn't mean I want to buy all the other ones ....


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Geoffrey said:


> I've gotten very stingy with 5 stars on goodreads and on my amazon reviews. I think it may be a response to all these books that are passable but with a majority of 5 stars reviews on them. In my mind, 5-stars are only those books I think are absolutely fantastic and so most books I enjoy end up being 3 or 4-stars, depending on the level of enjoyment.
> 
> I haven't done many 'likes' on Amazon and I've never really seen the ones I have marked impacting my recommendations that much. But, I'm not really that much of a fan of amazon's recommendation algorithms as they are really fairly basic. Just because I buy one book by an author doesn't mean I want to immediately buy their entire bibliography ... Or, just because I buy one kindle monthly deal doesn't mean I want to buy all the other ones ....


I agree. . . . .it's got to be truly fantabulous to merit 5* any more. If it's 1* I probably didn't even finish it. 

As to recommendations -- while it's possible that I would buy more by an author if I rated one book highly. . .you're dead right about the 'deal of the day' stuff. They're all so different -- it makes no sense that because one buys today's that means they want tomorrow's as well.

I don't bother with the Likes -- but I do rate the books for myself. No idea how much those ratings apply to what's recommended to me. I've never done the statistical analysis.

I think it more has to do with what I've _bought_ -- which then becomes problematic when I 'buy' a free or special price book that is just enough outside my usual genre that I'd not have looked twice at when regularly priced (and I won't know if I like it until I've read it), and suddenly I'm suggested all these other free books that, apparently, a large segment of the population got only because they _were_ free. It's always a widely diverse bunch in terms of genre and listed as "also bought" options.


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## Adele Ward (Jan 2, 2012)

I'm not sure your 'likes' affect what is recommended to you automatically. But they come into play if you search for a book. So, if I look for literary fiction or any other genre, I can choose to select by price or by various things including rankings. This all helps narrow down the selection. The Like button is apparently very important if people search for highly ranked books and it works along with star ratings and reviews. So clicking the Like button helps others find a book you have enjoyed. I only realised recently that it was there and that it had an effect. I suppose you can search for low ranked books too, which might be funny.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I don't believe those likes on Amazon do anything other than narrow down the "better-izer". Its only for the person that does the liking. I sometimes go to the betterizer when I have a few minutes to waste and either click like on stuff, or don't ever recommend such travesties ever again. . Its for books, music, movies. I click "no" way more than like though. 

It does seem to help with my recommendations.

But the likes have nothing to do with reviewing. And if Amazon would let me do only star reviews, I would do them. I don't like the pressure of having to write something.

But the likes and reviews are not interchangeable. One is internal for personal recs and the other for sharing with other readers.



Adele Ward said:


> I'm not sure your 'likes' affect what is recommended to you automatically. But they come into play if you search for a book. So, if I look for literary fiction or any other genre, I can choose to select by price or by various things including rankings. This all helps narrow down the selection. The Like button is apparently very important if people search for highly ranked books and it works along with star ratings and reviews. So clicking the Like button helps others find a book you have enjoyed. I only realised recently that it was there and that it had an effect. I suppose you can search for low ranked books too, which might be funny.


I am a bit confused at what you are saying here. If I go through the categories on Amazon and then do sorting by the various things like publication date, ratings, price, bestselling or new and popular. Depending on the list one goes for. Has nothing to do with my own recommendation. Meaning I would get the same top seller list with my likes than anyone else.

The recommendations I get are usually on my front page or in my personal page.


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## Adele Ward (Jan 2, 2012)

What I mean is that if you search for the best book according to ranking, other people clicking Like on books will affect the ones you're offered. If you click Like on your favourite books that will help others find them if they search according to ranking. So the Like button is more important than it seems. Or so I've been told.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

But there isn't any option to sort by ranking on the charts Its either bestselling or on the left bar it would be new and popular. 
If I click like on books, it has absolutely no bearing on what appears on the charts for others.


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## Adele Ward (Jan 2, 2012)

You can sort by price low to high, price high to low, new and popular, and average customer review. It's in the top right in a drop down menu on this link http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b/ref=sa_menu_kbo7?ie=UTF8&node=1286228011

I've been told the Like button is important by someone who read an article about it. So I suppose it comes into play in the new and popular and the average customer review. You can actually see this as books don't seem to be in the order you'd expect when you use this sorter. In fact you can sometimes see books out of order on a low to high price sorting if one of them has more positive response in Likes, reviews etc.

I think we're talking at cross purposes though. You seem to be saying this isn't sorting books into a listing that shows books you would like as everybody would get the same list. I'm saying that by pressing Like we raise the books we like in the popularity ranking so that everybody can see what we all like most. So the button is important in sorting books... or so I've been told.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Adele Ward said:


> You can sort by price low to high, price high to low, new and popular, and average customer review. It's in the top right in a drop down menu on this link http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b/ref=sa_menu_kbo7?ie=UTF8&node=1286228011
> 
> I've been told the Like button is important by someone who read an article about it. So I suppose it comes into play in the new and popular and the average customer review. You can actually see this as books don't seem to be in the order you'd expect when you use this sorter. In fact you can sometimes see books out of order on a low to high price sorting if one of them has more positive response in Likes, reviews etc.
> 
> I think we're talking at cross purposes though. You seem to be saying this isn't sorting books into a listing that shows books you would like as everybody would get the same list. I'm saying that by pressing Like we raise the books we like in the popularity ranking so that everybody can see what we all like most. So the button is important in sorting books... or so I've been told.


The Like button shouldn't influence the rankings of the bestsellers charts because that should purely be based on sales (best selling). You could be right that it factors into the "new and popular" sort order but it does not say that in Amazon's details about the like button - which again, can be found: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=pd_like_help_dp?ie=UTF8&nodeId=13316081#like



Adele Ward said:


> I'm not sure your 'likes' affect what is recommended to you automatically.


According to Amazon, the Like button does influence what is recommended to you here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/yourstore/recs/ref=sv_ys_1

I think originally, it only influenced the betterizer but it looks like it's now a part of all recommendations.



> But they come into play if you search for a book. So, if I look for literary fiction or any other genre, I can choose to select by price or by various things including rankings. This all helps narrow down the selection. The Like button is apparently very important if people search for highly ranked books and it works along with star ratings and reviews. So clicking the Like button helps others find a book you have enjoyed. I only realised recently that it was there and that it had an effect. I suppose you can search for low ranked books too, which might be funny.


Does Amazon have this info somewhere on their site?


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## lorezskyline (Apr 19, 2010)

I rate every book I read on goodreads not just for the site but also for my own reference, I used to write reviews but I did stop partly because of time restraints.  But secondly because I realised reading the reviews back to myself I wasn't a particularly informative reviewer in that other people had made the same points with greater clarity than I could.  I only review any book now that has only one or two reviews if theres something I want to add or if my view differs significantly from the consensus.  

However slightly off topic one thing I have found one thing I enjoy was an early christmas present of moleskine book journal which I do now write in after every book I read.  So I can look back on a few comments about a book in the future, so often I go back to a book I dont clearly remember and wish i'd noted my thoughts on it before.


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## AlexLaybourne (Jan 2, 2013)

I don't see likes as any reference towards the books quality. They are nice to see for the author, but don't see them giving any real value to the product itself. That being said I don't know if the Amazon algorithms work on Likes or not. 

I will like a product when I buy it. If I didn't like it, I would not have bought it. Then when I have read it, I will leave a review.


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## Adele Ward (Jan 2, 2012)

Thanks for all the info you have given on how the Like button works, and other things. I was given information by somebody else who did have a link to info on the Like button and told me it was important. I'll try to find it. But there might not be anything specific on the site about how or if it works in the sorting. It's very interesting to see your research though. I noticed books higher in the ranking if they had a very high number of Likes, but we'd have to try a more scientific experiment!


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