What Is the Point of Likes on Facebook
Facebook's like feature is tied to the Facebook Like button. On the surface, the Facebook's Like feature is a simple way to show off products, pages and updates you are fond of. Beneath the surface, the Facebook Like button has a number of benefits to organizations, websites and brands. It's also been the subject of a bit of criticism, primarily due to concerns about privacy.
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The Like Button
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The Facebook Like button was unveiled in April 2010. When a user clicks the "Like" button on a Facebook fan page, the page appears in the "Likes and Interests" section of his profile. The page's status updates will then display in the user's news feed. Facebook also released the Like button to webmasters, to allow them to integrate the button into their websites.
Purpose on the Consumer End
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According to Facebook, the purpose of the Like button is to "give positive feedback and connect with things you care about." Users can also use the Facebook Like button to give feedback to friends and family. For example, if a friend posts a status update, the user can click "Like" to show the friend he likes the update. The same applies to Facebook notes, photos, videos and links.
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Benefits to Webmasters
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Webmasters can add the Like button to their websites by adding Facebook's code. With the Like button visible on a Web page, visitors can click on it, adding a status update to the Facebook page which indicates the user likes the button. This makes it easy for site visitors to share your content, and it can potentially increase a website's traffic. If the webmaster enables the Facebook Open Graph protocol, he can connect his website to his Facebook page, which automatically connects the user to the site's Facebook page.
Privacy Concerns and Criticism
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Facebook's Like button has been the subject of scrutiny over privacy concerns. Germany, in particular, took initiatives against the feature in 2010, shortly after its release. The German Independent Center for Data Protection for Schleswig-Holstein released the following statement about Facebook's Like button: "Anyone who visits facebook.com or uses a plug-in must expect that he or she will be tracked by the company for two years."
The Facebook Like button has also been emulated by scammers, taking advantage of the familiar button to capture consumer trust, while connecting the button to viruses and/or malware.
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