A few days ago I inadvertently hit the Like button on one of my posts. I started to remove the Like when I thought, “Wait a second, what’s not to like here?”
And then my angels took over.
Good Angel (on my right shoulder): It isn’t fair to Like your own posts.
Evil Angel (on my left shoulder): Who said blogging is fair? Go back and Like all of your posts.
Good Angel: You’ll get stuck up and conceited.
Evil Angel: You already are. And has it harmed you? No, you’re perfect.
Good Angel: It’s trite to Like your own posts.
Evil Angel: It’s trite to engage in this inner debate. Just do it and move on.
Good Angel: What if a post really isn’t that good? If you Like it, then you may not be receptive to constructive feedback from all the non-Likes you don’t receive. Or do receive. Or whatever. Now I’m confused.
Evil Angel: Don’t listen to that confused imbecile! Like, like, like! It’s a war out there and he who dies with the most Likes wins.
I’m still not sure. Can anyone help me with this ethical debate? Is it okay to Like your own posts?
Categories: Blog
Chasing Unicorns 
Once I accidentally liked one of my posts. I actually got a snide comment from Word Press saying something like “aren’t you special, you like one of your own posts.” I haven’t done it since.
LikeLiked by 4 people
WP does that?
LikeLiked by 2 people
They did it once. And it cracked me up.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Okay, I just hit the “Like” button on my last two posts. But so far, no snarky comment from WP. Maybe they decided to discontinue that policy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Along with the Freshly pressed page. Stupid word press.
This happened a couple of years ago …
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t like their recent changes. But do we get a vote on the matter? Hell no.
LikeLiked by 1 person
no way jose!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like all of Elyse’s posts. Sometimes I even hit “Like” twice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Geez, so WordPress tries to kill self-esteem through snarkiness. Now that just motivates me to like all of my posts, even the ones that I know are crappy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Computers are getting too smart (and snarky). A few years ago, we spent New Year’s Eve at a friends house playing a computer trivia game. It apparently knew the date and called us a bunch of losers for not being out celebrating! Yikes. I’ve never been WP-shamed for liking my own post, but I feel a little weird about it. I mean, of course I like it… I wouldn’t be putting it out for general consumption if I didn’t. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I guess liking your own posts may be on a par with laughing at your own jokes. Which I sometimes do. And the worst thing about laughing at my own jokes is when no one else laughs, and I just get blank stares.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Laughing at your own jokes is a good thing. Even if no one gets it, at least you’ve amused yourself.
No moment spent creating joy, even if it’s only your own is ever wasted.
Or as the late great Robin Williams said,” joke em if they can’t take a fuck.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
All very true. Besides, if I don’t laugh at my own jokes, who the heck will?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’d hit the “CRINGE” button if I could find it. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Most humor is archetypal and much of its effect is created by the timing and delivery of the person telling the joke. Thing is, by laughing at your own material you begin to create a love for the art. With a bit of study of some of the masters you’ll get the technical parts down to reflex… I think amusing yourself is actually the single most important key to being a good comedian… So definitely continue to laugh at your own jokes. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmm, sounds like you’ve studied into this subject. You’re inspiring me to take comedy seriously.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I consider comedy one of the most divine gifts given to humanity, right up there with fire, music and those little plastic nib thingies on the ends of shoe laces.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love it, too. And I like those funny cartoons of yours. They’re very off-the-wall, which is my favorite form of humor.
LikeLike
Thanks for the compliment. Most of those cartoon ideas occur to me without any forethought I just sit down and grab the first thing that pops into my mind. Sometimes that works, sometimes it’s cringe worthy( see the above mentioned cringe button in the commentaries). Example: That made me think of a cartoon of a anti-social robot whose controls are mis-labeled; and he keeps hitting the cringe button instead of erudite.😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe you can’t make good comedy unless you walk the cringeworthy edge.
LikeLike
OMG how true… if you ride the improvisational pony, that’s the primary danger. There’s a delicate line between heaven and hell that you risk when making it up on the spot. Its worth it when you come up with a good joke, but an imploding dud can be very painful. In such instances I have crafted my own special place under a rock that I often crawl under… Its not as bad as it used to be, I’ve just recently installed a pool and smoothie bar there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s nice. There’s nothing like a cool dip and smoothie for dealing with embarrassment. Thanks for the comment, “someone”. I’m glad that someone reads my blog. Sure beats nobody.
LikeLike
Nothing wrong with liking what you do. You should. Doing so publicly (with the like button) on a regular basis, seems strange to me. The ‘like button’ is meant for others to quickly respond to your post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well that makes sense. It does come in handy for following up with a comment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Liking yourself in public got Pee Wee Herman and George Michael in trouble… both hands on the keyboard when liking yourself.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Too bad about Pee Wee. And with a name like that, I don’t know what anybody could have seen.
LikeLiked by 1 person