For better or worse, we\’re living in a world of \”like\”, \”+1\” and other various quippy symbols of our online approval. As much as we \”like\” these different ways to show our approval, we weren\’t completely satisfied with their effect when commenting on local news and local gossip through our Zipper smart phone app. They all work well but they only show approval and when dealing with information, especially of the local news variety, there are times to sound off with a resounding \”No\” and we wanted a fast way to this as well with just the click of a button…or thumb as the case may be. Let\’s take a look at the \”Thumbs\” and see how they work to shape the local news and local gossip that\’s important to you.

So what are the \”thumbs\” when using the Zipper app? Next to every message, whether just looking at the teaser screen, the full message, or replies, you will see a thumbs up on the left side and a thumbs up on the right side. They are separated so that you don\’t inadvertently hit one while meaning the other. It\’s very simple in context of what the Zipper is built for, primarily a holding and ranking place for local news and local gossip from everyone in your area. Basically, the thumbs is your confirmation or denial of the information given. If you have some relevant info on a particular local news zip, you can chime in with your confirmation. As more people comment via their thumbs on the validity of the actual event, you\’ll get a higher level of accuracy on the news and gossip zips that are reported. This is why the Thumbs Down is equally important.

Let\’s say that you only had the thumbs up approach. You may have a given story where 300 people have viewed it and 100 gave it a thumbs up. Sounds great…100 people confirmed it. But what about the other 200 people? Did they have no real opinion or further validation of the original local news or local gossip zip OR did they know it was incorrect but had no way to quickly cast this vote. That\’s why we need both thumbs, up and down. If you don\’t know either way and are just passively receiving new local news info, no need to hit either. If, however, you have information on the particular piece of news confirming for refuting in nature, by all means, chime in quickly with your respective Thumbs button. So how does the vote of the thumbs affect the given local new\’s relevance or ranking for your local news attention?

There are three criteria which drive a particular zip\’s position on you local news radar and the \”Thumbs\” is one of them. A calculation looks at the \”freshness\” of the zip or how old the info is. Every piece of local news or gossip gets it\’s place in the sun if only briefly. The \”thumbs\” help to keep it there depending on how people vote. If the majority of those knowledgeable on a particular news story vote Thumbs Up, then the story will stay aloft. A quick way to vote down spam or ads is to \”Thumbs\” down the message. If that\’s all it gets, it will disappear almost instantly. This is a great way for the owners of the Zipper (all of YOU!) to protect it from spam and nonsense in a way that many other systems can\’t. Spammers won\’t bother with the Zipper since they disappear almost immediately. That\’s a win for the good guys!

So the Thumbs are an important way for you to monitor the local news and local gossip content and validate those messages that are real, helpful, and just good plain local news.

Dennis Jarvis writes extensively about local news and local gossip smart phone apps.