X (formerly known as Twitter) is switching up the game and giving public like and repost counts the old heave-ho.
According to the social media mavens at X, this big change is coming in just a few weeks.
So, how did we learn about this juicy tidbit? Ellis Driscoll, a software engineer at X, revealed the information in a recent post.
According to Ellis, X employees are already internally testing this new like/repost-free experience.
He says it should start rolling out gradually to us regular users "in the next few weeks."
major UX changes are usually still tested carefully, especially for timeline/trends/explore
— ellis (@DriscollEllis) April 29, 2024
I'm not working on this change myself, but employees are still dogfooding it. it should be gradually rolled out to users in the next few weeks and the UX may change by then
But don't worry; you'll still be able to see how many likes and reposts a post gets.
The catch? You'll have to tap into each post to view those stats instead of having them staring you in the face on the main feed. Talk about creating a little extra work!
Out With the Old, In With the New
Elon Musk believes removing likes and reposts from posts will discourage the annoying practice of "engagement-farming" posts.
These posts are typically designed to accumulate likes and reposts, rather than provide any meaningful content. In other words, they only serve to clog up our social media feeds.
The real goal here is probably to downplay the obsession with racking up huge like/repost numbers.
After all, Instagram already did something similar a couple of years back by hiding public "heart" counts to ease people's anxiety about social comparisons.
Fans of the potential change argue it could shift the focus back to high-quality, substantive content rather than vapid posts aimed at going viral.
Of course, critics worry it's really just a ploy to push whatever content X bigwigs want you to see without publicly visible signals of popularity.
The "Exploding Menu" and Gaming the System
So, how will this revamp actually work? According to Christopher Stanley, X's head of payments, the new layout involves an "exploding menu" with likes and reposts tucked away until you tap to expand it.
Stanley describes it as a "video game interface" where you "long press and then swipe to choose" to interact with posts.
Only time will tell if this gaming-inspired approach actually takes off or totally flops.
Your Thoughts?
X is flipping the script, downplaying those public likes, and repost tallies we've all become accustomed to seeing plastered everywhere.
Whether you think it's a genius move to de-emphasized meaningless online popularity contests or a sinister plan to control what content thrives, it's certainly a bold change from the X team.
What's your take on this big X shake-up? Are you excited for a less popularity-obsessed online experience or bummed to lose those public like/repost counts?