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South China Morning Post
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
20 years of the internet's ‘like' button, and why Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg opposed it
The internet would not be the same without the 'like' button, the thumbs-up icon that Facebook and other online services turned into digital catnip. Advertisement Like it or not, the button has served as a creative catalyst, a dopamine delivery system and an emotional battering ram. It also became an international tourist attraction after Facebook plastered the symbol on a giant sign that stood outside its Silicon Valley headquarters until the company rebranded itself as Meta Platforms in 2021. A new book, Like: The Button That Changed The World, delves into the convoluted story behind a symbol that has become both the manna and bane of a digitally driven society. It is a tale that traces back to gladiator battles for survival during the Roman Empire before fast-forwarding to the early 21st century when technology trailblazers such as Yelp co-founder Russ Simmons, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, YouTube co-founder Steve Chen , and Gmail inventor Paul Buchheit were experimenting with different ways of using the currency of recognition to prod people to post compelling content online for free. Advertisement
South China Morning Post
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
The history of the internet's ‘like' button, and why Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg opposed it
The internet would not be the same without the 'like' button, the thumbs-up icon that Facebook and other online services turned into digital catnip. Like it or not, the button has served as a creative catalyst, a dopamine delivery system and an emotional battering ram. It also became an international tourist attraction after Facebook plastered the symbol on a giant sign that stood outside its Silicon Valley headquarters until the company rebranded itself as Meta Platforms in 2021. A new book, Like: The Button That Changed The World, delves into the convoluted story behind a symbol that has become both the manna and bane of a digitally driven society. It is a tale that traces back to gladiator battles for survival during the Roman Empire before fast-forwarding to the early 21st century when technology trailblazers such as Yelp co-founder Russ Simmons, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, YouTube co-founder Steve Chen , and Gmail inventor Paul Buchheit were experimenting with different ways of using the currency of recognition to prod people to post compelling content online for free.
