Have you met the “awesome” button! You probably have, but not able to recognize with the name I used. Let me rephrase it. Have you come across the “Like” button? I can see you smiling now. Your mind is telling you that I am talking about Facebook. Isn’t it! I won’t be surprised if you know about Facebook’s “share” and “like” features. Facebook is the hottest thing on the web which has transformed the way internet has been seen for past couple of years now. But did you know that “like” was conceptualized as the “awesome” button on Facebook. The idea originated in 2007. Just like, you see your friend’s new Sports watch, and you cheer out “awesome”! It was simple and to the point. It was quick appreciation cum acknowledgement without the need of too much. The challenges in front, well, Facebook’s “share” sibling could lose its ground, and, another social media company already having a similar feature in place. Facebook held back this feature and continued to give their businesses “Become a Fan”. If you liked a particular business, you could become their fan, enabling you to follow the business’s updates. During early 2010s, the idea gathered steam again. This time, the implementation was taken ahead and “Like” was born. Facebook started by working closely with companies like ESPN, CNN to have their “become a fan” buttons on FB replaced with “like”. Huge benefits were shown to the marketers. Facebook, based on their research, convinced that “like” would be more intuitive and would result in major conversions on the internet, in terms of followership. The “like” button, just on the launch, broke major records in 24 hours, confirming it was there to stay. By the time we reached late 2010s, the “like” button could be seen everywhere. Facebook made it extensible in way that you could see it floating on the internet, in various forms. The concept caught up like a wildfire. Browsing on some alien site, if I saw an advertisement of a new canon lens and its excellent pricing, and I “like” it, facebook would pull that back to my profile and soon, everyone on my friend list could see the same. A single “like” could become a vehicle for a chain reaction. Every organization now wanted to get a “like” placed for their products on the internet. On the other side, was replacing “Become a Fan” feature with “Like”, a correct perspective catch, shot into debate. The fundamental difference was quite clear. If I like your picture or a company’s product, I would instantly “like” it, give my thumbs-up to that particular posting/product/picture. Whereas if I appreciated a particular business or brand, for ex:-Canon. I would become their fan, since my following is based on a brand and not just a particular product. In simple terms, “becoming a fan” was much more of an involvement than just liking something. On the other hand, Facebook saw their idea gaining a major ground, but now directly completing and also confusing some on the internet, about why to use “share” button and which was more effective. Conceptually, both of these features were much similar. “Like” was proving to be effective, intuitive to click, and almost got the same job done. Showing how many others have also “like” it and thumbnails of your friends in front, gave you an instant sense of involvement. Currently, as Facebook is not working on “share” further, & the “like” has gone much ahead from just the one liner pick up boy. It’s amalgamating into features of Share and also making most of its rising popularity. Facebook surely got this one right and lot more to come ahead. Didn’t it really turn out to be an awesome button for Facebook! References: Gartner reports and Social media trends. |
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