If you were confused before about the differences between liking a website or story and sharing one, Facebook has confused the issue even more to make it simpler for us all. “Like” it, “share” it – either way you’re posting the details on your wall and onto your friends news feeds. If anything, “like” is more prominent than “share” now.
Website owners will rejoice. Unsuspecting users will likely get annoyed.
Before the update, a “like” appeared in the stream or on the wall as an action grouped with other smaller actions. It was smaller with no details other than a statement that you liked something. Shares were more prominent and were often reserved for something that people wanted their friends to see.
Share functionality will see no further development according to Facebook Spokeswoman Malorie Lucich. The company will continue to support the Share button but Like is the “recommended solution moving forward.”
The major difference between Like and Share: pushing the Like button on a website will automatically post it. Users can go to Facebook and comment on it, but there is no popup dialogue or second button to push as there is with the Share button. One-click and it’s on your wall and your friends’ news feeds.
ProTip for Websites: Dump the Share buttons (See update below). You want more people to push the Like button now. While the Share button allows for commentary, the benefits of a Like are now just as strong and consolidating in the direction that Facebook wants to head is wise. Plus, Like buttons show faces of friends who have already liked it, meaning that accumulating more Likes can yield a domino effect. “Share” is so 2010 now.
ProTip for Users: Be selective with what you like. You will start to annoy your friends if you flood their news feeds with dozens of stories, videos, or pictures regardless of how much they made you LOL.
We will update once we get more information about this development.
Update: It appears that Likes are registering as Shares now on the Share counter. Changing ProTip – having both available is even better now as long as they are in different locations.
About JD Rucker
Facebook is always invading our privacy, in my opinion. Perhaps we don’t want everyone to know what we “like”?
@Angela – I agree completely. It’s a shame that we have to keep up with news just to know what has changed with their functionality, but we’re stuck (for now) with it since everyone we know is on it.
lol, makes you really wonder what facebook is up to lol.
http://www.complete-privacy.eu.tc
If you don’t people to know what you “Like” then don’t click like maybe?
its all up to you, that’s your account, facebook give you options to share or not.
I believe ‘likes’ are used to target the ‘liker’ AND the ‘likees’ with advertising based on what is liked . I read somewhere recently that ads related to ‘likes’ will show up in the right hand column of the page on both the person who likes and the friends who receive the like ..
Is Facebook selling my search information to other networking sites? I have a couple of cases where I’ve searched for someone on Facebook and then had them turn up as a recommended connection on LinkedIn, with no other likely explanation.
From the little messing around I have done so far with these new “likes”, I have noticed that they only show up on your wall and NOT in your friend’s newsfeeds. That seems to be the big difference between “like” and “share” at the moment. Can anyone confirm this? I have done a few likes on stories on engadget and places like that. I get the new “like” block with the thumbnail and blurb, but it only appears on my wall. I have had 2 friends log in to their facebook and neither had my “likes” in their newsfeeds. Whats the point of liking something if the 2 people who actually go to my wall once and a while are the only ones that see it? When I like a story, it’s so I can show my friends it. I realize I can still share at the moment but it seems like facebook is phasing that out. I guess my question is “why like something?”
Anyone else seeing problems with new Likes since this update?
how to install it in your site the merge like then share button…please email me for help…tnx
Can I add a like button without a counter or all that extra code that loads behind the scens? I’ld like to use a simple Share link as it doesn’t come with all the bagge of a Like button but I guess FB is phasing it out?