The Origin of the Like Button

In Social Media, the like button lets viewers know which content is popular. It determines the traffic that content will get and the shares it will have. According to Wikipedia “a like button, like option or recommend button is a feature in communication software such as social networking sites, Internet forums, news websites, and blogs is where the user can express that they like, enjoy or support certain content”. The like button shows the number of users that liked the content. Contrary to popular belief it was not Facebook that invented the like button. It was the Vimeo video site in 2005. The like buttons became popular when Facebook adopted them in 2009. Like buttons let the viewers know which content is well-liked by the consumer. It is so popular that other social media has used it like Instagram, Twitter, and many other social media sites.

Who created the first like button?

The first like button was created in 2005 on the video-sharing site Vimeo from a team comprised of three individuals named Andrew Pile, Jake Lodwick, and Zach Klein. On February 10, 2009, Facebook launched its Like button. The Facebook employee that created the Like button is former Facebook engineer Justin Rosenstein. Mr. Rosenstein no longer uses social media apps stating that it is a time-waster.

Is the Like button copyrighted?

The concept of Liking or Upvoting something is not protected but the specific design of the LIKE button and the use of the word Like could be a violation of copyright or trademark.

Why Like Button and not awesome button?

Did you know that the original name for the Facebook Like button was the Awesome button?. We would all be using the term awesome like surfers if the Facebook team had not changed their minds. The Facebook team thought that the word Like was more universal than awesome. So they decided to call the button the Like button. In addition, a 1990s advertising research foundation project report, concluded that the advertisements were considered likable by the public. Researchers theorized that viewers that saw advertisements that they liked were more likely to remember the ad so they decided to call the buttons Like instead of awesome.

When you hit the like button? Is it the content you like or is there another reason you smash the like button?

For example; you hit the Like button to simply bookmark the content, or you simply agree with the content. So when the Like button is hit it doesn’t necessarily mean that the viewer likes the content, it could have other meanings.

Why the Like button is important to Facebook?

The Like button is important to Facebook because it helped Facebook grow into the giant tech social media company it is today. Facebook has billions of followers because of its content. Viewers smash the Like button on the content and advertisers place ads on Facebook because of the Worldwide traffic on its site. The Like button has contributed to its traffic on the site.

Another reason is that Facebook allows advertisers to sell products and services directly on their sites. When you hit the Like Button you are validating that you like that product or service. The Facebook ads allow the Like buttons to be an important part of Facebook’s revenue stream.

In summary, the history of the like button came from a simple concept of developing a method for viewers to engage with content and to express their approval of the content. The word Like faired well on research advertising reports due to advertising studies. If this study hadn’t found that the word Like was more universal than awesome. We would be smashing that awesome button instead.