Facebook: Gotta LIKE It
I noticed a flurry of activity online today about Facebook’s new change to policy that happened Monday. Apparently, you will no longer be a “fan” of a page. Now, there’s only “like.”
And “like” is good. In fact, “like” is important.
New “social plugins” were unveiled at Facebook’s F8 Conference in San Francisco. Bret Taylor on Facebook’s blog said, “Social plugins are the easiest way to integrate the social graph into your site and provide an instantly personalized experience to your users.” And apparently, the most important of these plugins is the “like.” button.
Anywhere the “like” button lives can become part of the Facebook web of interest. When you click and say that you like something, it will show up on your wall for all your friends to see, and it can be anything from movies at IMDB (Internet Movie Database) to well… this blog.
The Activity Feed shows what other friends have liked on your site, and the Facepile plugin will show pictures of the people who have already signed up for your site. If you have a sign-up, that is.
Linking all these things together, Facebook calls the “social grid,” and any webpage can become part of it. What’s that mean to you? Get like buttons on your site. Otherwise, you’ll be left out in the lurch and nobody will want to play with you. Ha!
Here’s how Taylor described it:
“…The Open Graph protocol opens up the social graph and lets your pages become objects that users can add to their profiles. When a user establishes this connection by clicking Like on one of your Open Graph-enabled pages, you gain the lasting capabilities of Facebook Pages: a link from the user’s profile, ability to publish to the user’s News Feed, inclusion in search on Facebook, and analytics through our revamped Insights product.
“In summary, by giving your users better, simpler ways to connect with the content on your site, you can then use those connections to provide more personalized, relevant experiences. And the product only gets better over time. The more people that come back to your site, the more connections that are made, the better your service becomes.”
The codes are provided by Facebook here: http://developers.facebook.com/plugins
But it’s easier than having to add HTML to your pages with WordPress. I just installed the plugin “Facebook Simple Connect,” which includes offshoot plugins for the Like button, comments, a fan box widget, and a bunch more.
You will need to sign up for a Facebook API, but that’s pretty simple. The plugin gives you the link and you just add some info and bingo! You’re all set.
Seeing how this might give you the capability of having your posts shared with your friends’ friends, it’s totally worth having.
So, give me a thumbs up, will ya? 
