I’m sure many of you have noticed that the “Like” button is now everywhere, on sites and web pages across the web. We reported that over 50,000 people had put it up on their site in the first few days. But die-hard Facebookers like you and I remember the good ‘ol days when “like” was reserved for giving praise to comments and news feed entries on ours and others’ Facebook profiles. That said, I thought I’d look at 5 Facebook situations where you should never click “like”.
1) Bob’s Relationship Status Is Now “Single”
Facebook, by its nature, begs the question of why humans have a need to share information with others. We have all, as we used the service, broadcast messages out to a larger audience than we’re used to. Either by posting a presumably funny comment or a longer post about some good news in your life.
We also find it important to keep some of our basic information intact on the site, as Facebook represents our virtual self. That means breaking up with a longtime girlfriend is no longer the situation it once was. Whereas the news would trickle out through word of mouth to friends, now the news gets posted on your wall, and is available for everyone to see. Surely, some users forget to ‘remove’ it, even when they don’t want to broadcast it, and it’s left there on a person’s wall as an awkward, painful reminder of their recent emotional turmoil.
Don’t click like on that post.
2) Your Own Post
It is pretty lame to like your own post. It just looks funny, and is pretty embarassing when it’s just you that has liked the post. Well, now that I think about it, if you really feel like showing everyone that your funny comment is worth even more than the time you so obviously put into writing it, then click like on your own hilarious joke. In this situation, the joke itself becomes less important, as the real joke becomes how you’ve demonstrated yourself to be at a level of insecurity so high that you’re now reaffirming yourself on Facebook.
Yeah, so unless you’re a level three joker whose friends understand your self-liking as an act of parody, don’t like your own posts!
3) Farmville Anything
The last thing we need is an army of people liking random Farmville posts for free cows and barn doors. As if there isn’t enough Farmville going around, for some reason this new generation of gamers has become so obsessed with the game that they feel the need to just quickly tap ‘like’ on any Farmville post they see. What magic sauce did Zynga put into this friggin’ game? It’s not even a new concept. When I see the amount of fandom this game gets, I’m always blown away, so I’m here to say a few things. You already play the game, you already pay Zynga for virtual pig troughs… You don’t need to click like on other people’s Farmville news feed items!
Just joking Zynga!
4) Friend Request Acceptances
If your high school friend just made friends with one of your elementary school friends, and you’re living 2,000 miles away and haven’t talked to either in years, refrain from being overcome with a sudden blast of nostalgia or you’ll end up “liking” their new friendship. And in your rose-colored haze you might miss the fact that you liking that relationship is as creepy as Jack Nicholson popping his head into a smashed up door in the shining. That’s what it will feel like to them, because you just popped your presence into a situation where you are effectively very creepy. I think Facebook is a place where people can easily become creepy and have no idea, so keep this in mind next time you “like” a random post.
5) Rest In Peace Comments
I’ve found that some people also find peace in letting the world know about their deceased friends or relatives. I can understand that this helps people pay homage to a person they had respect for, and I respect that as well.
However, the nature of the “like” button means that it’s just not an option to show your own respect to them using the button. I’ve seen many Rest In Peace comments, and not a single person has clicked “like” yet, so it seems that we all understand that button and that click can only be misconstrued. That said, have you ever seen anybody press it?
Source: All Facebook
Friday, May 14, 2010