Halloween is coming up, and many companies fear the thought of a Facebook ‘dislike’ button materialising and striking down on their social posts. It’s a terrifying prospect, imagining that exciting new deal posted, torn to shreds by a fanbase wanting more, more, more. But a recent interview with the creator of the ‘Like’ button brings some ease to these nightmares. To dislike with a click probably won’t happen. Ever.
While thousands have demanded a ‘dislike’ button so they can thumb down baby photos and relationship statuses, it has never come to pass. Former Facebook CTO Bret Taylor speaking to Tech Radar has brought up that the ‘dislike’ button was originally discussed when creating the ‘like’. but the ‘dislike’ was deemed too evil, the potential negative fallout from a dislike being too great. To protect us all, the ‘dislike’ button was locked away twenty thousand leagues under the sea, and everyone went about liking everything unaware of the great evil lurking and waiting for someone to let it out. Or it just never came to be in the first place, but that doesn’t sound quite as dramatic.
For those wanting to show their displeasure at the world, Bret Taylor suggests that they should just post it in a comment. Everything is let out for all to see, and any squabbles can be quickly settled, as the core of what needs to be said is there, not hidden within a thumbs down icon. ‘Like’ came to be so users could acknowledge a post yet have nothing to say. Positive vibes are all the rage these days, no one wants those bad vibes bringing them down. And so, Facebook are making the world a more positive place.
Though it was the former Facebook CTO who said this, maybe you shouldn’t be pushing the ‘dislike’ out of your nightmares just yet…
Author
Joe Ray W
Senior Researcher
