One of the most recent changes in Facebook is the modification of the “become a fan” to “like” on pages, and the integration of “liking” other sites you find on the web. I am not really sure what prompted the change, or why facebook felt it was necessary, but they did and it got me thinking. When facebook pages had “fans”, it felt like the people were involved. Fans are people who absolutely love something – being a fan of something takes commitment. It means that you really appreciate it and would go out of your way for it. Now that the pages have moved to just “liking” something, it’s a downward movement. “Liking” means you have some emotion, but not much. You wouldn’t really do a whole lot for it and you definitely appreciate other things above it. I believe this change was meant to make things easier for facebook, but it has also removed some of its strength. I would much rather have fans of my business than people who just “like” my business.

What do you think of the “like” vs “fan” issue?