Facebook Dislike Button Coming Soon

facebook-dislike-button

Empathy = Dislike

So it’s been announced by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg that we can expect a new update, which is yet to be named, but dubbed as a ‘Dislike’ button and is currently in development. So how do we expect this to affect the way in which we use this platform, not only from a user’s perspective, but this will also inevitably alter the metrics of a successful Facebook campaign for both social consultants & clients.

Even though the new addition has been laid out as a vote of empathy when ‘liking’ is deemed inappropriate, I am fascinated to know how this will be controlled & the metrics surrounding the management of disuse of this new action. Empathy is a difficult emotion to convey when confronted with a face to face interaction let alone via cyberspace.

Will we descend into a voting style system like Reddit which will be hijacked to express frustration at that one friend who posts endless ‘pointless updates’, ultimately replacing the power of a ‘non’ like? Doubtful as Zuckerburg has previously ignored requests dating back from 2007 for such a button, for fear it could create a negative forum.

Coming Soon

We wait with bated breath for this seemingly controversial yet powerful new addition & how we can expect it to influence social media campaigns & strategies.

My Thoughts

I personally saw the ‘Like’ button as an emotive endorsement which could be adaptive; for a business post, epic cat video or as a vote of support when your best friend breaks it off with the latest boyfriend. Similarly the power of the like allows you to associate yourself with a cause or charity, although the action of a ‘like’ may feel to be a contradiction to everyday situations when for example putting it into normal sentence formation:

I LIKE that your cat has gone missing

HOWEVER this is open to interpretation hence the call for a ‘dislike’ button. If you watch the video below it puts into context how social activity is not always relatable to everyday human interaction within society.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. How could this potentially change social media for your clients or your own campaign?