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Social media Web sites sure do like to copy one another. Facebook adopted the hashtag and follow features from Twitter. Twitter knocked off fancier profile pages from Facebook. Instagram added Twitter’s @-symbol. Twitter introduced filters after Instagram.

All these updates are great for the users of these services, helping forge a universal language for people to understand online. But for some reason Twitter hasn’t copied one of the biggest, most understood and most important features on the social Web today: the “Like” button.

It’s no secret that Twitter is trying to rev up engagement. In late-August the company introduced a new feature labeled “the blue line” that was supposed to show people who was talking to whom on the service and to promote conversation. But rather than drive conversation, the line itself has become a topic of conversation as people seem to find it incredibly confusing.

In the past the company has said that almost half of its users don’t actually tweet, but rather watch others on the site. Adding a blue line isn’t going to goad them into such an activity. The reality is, just like some people sit quietly at a dinner party and listen to two guests debate the government shutdown, some people don’t want to chat on social sites. They just want to watch, or listen. And sometimes they want to let people know they are listening. Online many people do that with a like.

Twitter does offer a star-shaped “favorite” button, but it seems there is some confusion over what it means to favorite something. I’ve been asked the following questions about it: “Is the star to say you want to save that tweet for later?” “Is the star just a way of saying you saw a person’s tweet and liked it?” “Is a favorite a like, or a dislike?”

It’s pretty apparent the “fav” is confusing, whereas the “like” is not. Watch someone on their phone as they scroll through Instagram; their finger just bobs up and down as they double-tap images to state that they like them. On Facebook too, people scroll and click the like button as if they are in the middle of a secret contest.

Meanwhile, people on Facebook and Instagram pay attention to the number of times people interact with their content. Sure, it might be ego-driven to constantly check to see the number of people who have liked your photos, but it’s engaging.

If Twitter really wants more engagement on its Web site, it should finally copy something from its biggest competitor. I’m sure a lot of people on the service would like that.