Liker for education?

Perhaps you would like to explore an alternative to Facebook. You have grown tired of the acrimony or perhaps you object to the way Facebook harvests your personal information to target the ads you see.

I have been exploring several alternatives I think may have a chance of gaining traction. Liker is one such alternative and it appears very similar to Facebook allowing new users to feel comfortable (although it will take some time to generate the same social network you may have enjoyed in Facebook).

You can follow/friend others in a manner very similar to facebook. However, if you are looking for a social focus on a specific interest, Like provides two options.

These two options involve assigning a category to your posts. This allows others to follow a category. The second option is to create or join a group. Both options can be reached from the menu appearing in the upper right-hand corner of the Like home page (on a computer screen).

Posts go to those who follow you. This could be friends or those following a category.

A category designation is assigned by using the drop-down menu appearing below the post window (red box). You can search for a category or scroll through the hierarchical list of categories. Education is contained within the more general category of science and academics. This was not obvious to me. You can also just search of education. Once you assign a category to a post, the categories you have used appear at the top of the scroll list so the categories you use become easy to find.

Groups work differently and group posts do not appear in the general feed. Again, access to groups starts in the upper left hand corner. You will then see groups you have already joined, the button to create a new group, and a search window.

I am trying to start a group focused on K12 Educational Technology. You would find this group by searching education. Starting a group is difficult unless you have an external way to attract users (perhaps a face to face group you want to take online).

If you know people, you can invite them through Liker. I have the edtech group set to require authorization. This is a tough call. It makes joining a little more difficult (I have to respond to a request), but it provides at least one gatekeeper to assure those who join seem to have a relevant interest for belonging.