Public vs. Private Voting
I’m usually not into voting for best of lists, but I saw a friend had voted in the Goodreads Choice Awards and I decided to make some choices, too. I thought she had opted to share her voting record, but after I made a choice, I realized that MY vote had posted, too. There was no way to opt out — if you wanted to vote, you had to be okay with everyone knowing how you voted.
Talk about low stakes knowledge.
I mean, I am not shy at stating what I read. I am not even shy about stating how I vote in political elections or ballot questions. But there was something about Goodreads taking the choice away from me — forcing me to state my choices vs. choosing to announce my choices — that made me make no choices. I stopped voting in the Choice Awards.
Whomp whomp.
How do you feel about platforms making your behind-the-scene choices public?
4 comments
I noticed this too! And I wasn’t impressed either. They could have at least made it clear before you hit “vote” that this would happen. I don’t REALLY care if people see how I vote for a book award — but in some categories, I haven’t actually read the books I’m voting for — they’re books I’d like to read or I’ve enjoyed the author’s previous work, etc.
I haven’t voted for many years, partly for this reason. Also partly because I hadn’t read any of the books that were listed this year! And partly because I don’t really like the idea. It’s too broad for general fiction/literature, which is mainly what I read. Though probably makes more sense in genre fiction.
I felt the same way! I didn’t like that there was no warning or opt out, either. I probably won’t vote in good reads again because of it. (Even though I would have told anyone what I voted for) Sharing without warning felt intrusive.
I never got around to voting, but I didn’t notice this in past years. I don’t know if I care either way.