As I’m sure you all have noticed, there is no ‘dislike’ button on Facebook. You cannot anti-heart a photo on Instagram. And you cannot mark a tweet as your least favorite. Why is this? Well, let’s just imagine a social media world where you could do these things on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. It’s easy to envision feeds full of negativity and angst, whether it be toward a person, idea, or brand. Political Facebook statuses would explode, for example. Thus, social media founds have kept the platform as negativity-free as possible.
So, what’s a hater to do? Why, download the newly-released Hater app, of course! Created by Jake Banks, the app allows users to share photos of things they hate and get feedback from other users. The app itself looks quite a lot like Instagram, although the overall sentiment is obviously quite different. Here is a list of its key features, which I have taken from a Gadget Review article:
- Live streaming feed of Hates from people you follow.
- Take a photo with the Hater camera, add a filter then write a comment and share what you Hate!
- Write a Hate rant and share it with the people who follow you.
- Explore the most popular Hates!
- Share Hates anonymously under an Alter Ego.
- Instant sharing to Facebook and Twitter.
- Interact with friends by exchanging comments and Hates.
- Push notifications
- Geotag and Hashtag where and what you Hate.
- And much, much more.
I have two main questions concerning the Hater app. The first – is hate too strong of a word? I dislike a lot of things, but I’m not sure I hate enough things to get a lot of use out of this app. I also don’t think I like reading the word “hate” over and over again. To me, that gets exhausting and leaves me feeling drained.
Secondly, can an app based solely on hatred succeed? After all, haven’t we argued a strong case that humans are inherently good? If this is true, will people really use an app that they can be sure will provide them with negative feelings? I don’t think so. Banks says he created the app to allow people to express themselves more fully on social media. But since the app focuses strictly on hate, isn’t Banks just providing another emotionally unbalanced social media platform? The one feature of the app I could see myself getting on board with is the not yet released Hate For Good feature. This aspect of the app will allow people to create awareness for things they hate that have the potential to be changed or reformed. It could be a useful tool for brands. Without this feature, however, I have trouble seeing how Hater will be able to sustain a user base.
Sources:
http://mashable.com/2013/03/10/hater/
http://www.gadgetreview.com/2013/03/hate-on-tap-with-the-hater-app-for-ios.html
What an interesting app, haha. I first have to say that a new social media site, Pheed, allows you to not like a post with its button of a broken heart that means “I don’t like this”. That being said I have never seen any other social media site that shows hate to a post.
Although I wish Facebook had a dislike button, it’s probably not the best idea to incorporate one. For me, wanting a dislike button is more of a joke. Yes sometimes I want to dislike posts I see, but I would never actually dislike it. Having a dislike button or a hate button of any sort on a social media site could create a lot of negativity. I agree with everything you said. Hate is a strong word and shouldn’t be used to much.
I don’t think the app will generate a lot of users with its negative outlook on life, but you never know. It will be interesting to see if they will gain a lot of users over the next couple of weeks. I don’t seeing myself using the app and it’s not being I hate the app (yes, pun intended), but rather because if I want to be negative on the internet I will find another way.
Nice post Sara. I don’t understand the obsession with hating/trolling and haters/trolls. I’ve recently read a few memes posted from people in my circle on the issue that reflect my sentiments. The first, “Negative people need drama like oxygen. Stay positive, it will take their breath away. And the second, “When people make offensive comments they almost always get offended when you get defensive. It doesn’t make sense (we all know), so next time it happens give them a compliment. They will be just as confused. A good offense hates a defense they cant score on.”
As for the app, doesn’t sound like it will stick. They are going to have a hard time trying to stay relevant. There’s no need for a dislike button on Facebook unless it’s for advertisements. Advertisers would be interested in that data. I don’t people are interested in what their friends don’t like. Like the saying goes negative publicity is still publicity. If you don’t like something why associate yourself with it?
Interesting. I had not heard of this specific one, but it’s not surprising. I do think FB limits themselves to “likes’ for the reasons you mention. On the other hand, much of the work on offline social networks actually demonstrates that the stuff we hate is actually more influential than the stuff we like. We tend to fixate on the dislike far more than the like (for many psychological reasons).
Good post; I just tweeted about the Hater app last week. I actually think it’s pretty funny and seemingly designed as a joke. I don’t think they’re looking to create a community of angry pessimistic users, but just trying to fill a gap in the market. Everyone complains or jokes about the inability to “dislike” things on Facebook. Or the awkward moments when someone posts a status about something bad, an illness, or bad news and people like it to show support or solidarity, but it comes off weird because it seems like people like the actual event. l could definitely see people – my friends even – using the app to share little annoyances throughout the day or even just to make fun of each other. It’s pulling of the culture of memes, which everyone does still like sharing. If something annoying or ridiculous happens to you, you want to share it and jokingly get sympathy, which you will since everyone can usually relate.
I think the app can be successful in general, but the Hate for Good feature sounds really intriguing. I can see companies or advocacy groups posting causes with claims for x number of hates to raise a pledge from donors, etc. Cool potential there.
I have to check this out because I hadn’t heard about it until your post. Sounds funny and entertaining! I agree with the comments so far but what struck me as ironic is that this “hater” app is posting things that you don’t like because you don’t get an opportunity to troll/dislike on other social media outlets, but at the same time it is to get sympathy, and “likes” from other people. It is kind of ironic how a hater app is really people liking to hate the same thing. Regardless, I’m intrigued and definitely checking it out!
Intriguing. I think that yes there is an audience for Hater and if its functionality matches what it says its capabilities are then it seems pretty well-developed. However, I think this is an attempt that has come out too late. Regarding the picture of traffic, I think that people can just post this on Facebook with a comment like “nothing like rush hour in California” or something along those lines and still elicit a like. I think that the like has become a universal symbol of recognition/ relatability and not necessarily an actual “like”. I feel that when you click like, you are saying, “I can relate to that” or “I find that amusing.” Therefore, given how the like button has evolved, I am not sure I see the need for this app. I think it will spark people’s curiosity but I’m not sure it will encourage a lot of engagement since as you said, it is draining. Overall, I think it may have the potential to reach the status of a passing fad.
Interesting blog! While I think hate is a strong word, I find the app amusing. People love complaining and venting on social media and this seems like a good way for them to do so. I don’t think that I would personally use the app, it seems to negative for me personally. While sometimes I do wish that Facebook had a “dislike” button, there are many good reasons that it does not. The opportunities for abuse are too great. There are a lot of different ways that a Dislike could be interpreted. It will be interesting to see if this new app takes off. I feel like people would use it because its humorous, but it will not be able to sustain itself.
I’m not sure if you meant this to be funny, but an app that is “fueled by hatred” struck me as really funny. Seems like our apps can take on humanoid emotions. I think there is some level of hate or dislike on Youtube, which I think really sets it apart. You can like or dislike a video. But really the most important thing on Youtube is views, so I feel like likes/dislikes are kind of in the background. Maybe that’s a good thing…
Its unfortunate that they had to call it “Hater” in order to lure people in, I dont think “Disliker” would have caught on. Despite the controversial name I do think there is a market for people that want to vent on the things they think make their lives worse. Perhaps if facebook added a dislike button we wouldn’t need “Hater”, but they didn’t, so now space is vacant for this app to populate. I agree with davidbarash, the thumbs down button on Youtube sets the platform apart and leads to conversations with more diversity of thought.
Great post! I don’t necessarily think people want to HATE, more like show their disapproval without any effort. There is the option to comment on Facebook, Tweet back on Twitter, but they choose not to because it would take to much effort.