Earlier this week, I wrote a guest post on VentureBeat on the Like-ification of 2011 and start-up opportunities for entrepreneurs that can figure out how to leverage what we “like”.
The piece was picked up and re-posted in the New York Times. Ironically, you couldn’t “like” it in either place. Feel free to do so below. 
(text below)
The Like-Ification of 2011
By SAAD KHAN of VentureBeat
A few weeks ago, I was listening to my car radio and had a surreal moment. Driving down Highway 101, I heard my jam, and reached for my iPhone to press a “like” button. I quickly realized the absurdity of my action — this was, in fact, my very analog car radio.
Nonetheless, I proceeded to spend the rest of the day “like-ing” stuff I came across in the real world: someone brought cupcakes into a meeting — “like”; I heard an awesome company pitch — “like”; I colluded with marauding investors on seed valuations for Y Combinator companies, “like” (and tweet cc @arrington). Every time, it was as if I had given myself a virtual high-five and couldn’t wait to share it.
Clearly Facebook has trained me well.
Do I sound crazy? Maybe, but I’m not alone. According to All Facebook, last July more than 65 million people were “like-ing” stuff on a daily basis. That’s more than 17.5 billion “likes” over nine months (assuming a constant rate and no growth of Facebook traffic). In September, Mashable reported that the “like” button is now present on over 2 million sites around the Web. That’s a lot of new data about user intent, and it’s growing. Not bad for a feature that rolled out only nine months ago.
If 2010 was about gamification, then 2011 will belong to people who can figure out what to do with what we like.
Like-ification of the Web
“Likes” and the social graph that creates them represent a new contextual layer on top of the existing web. It’s a layer that brings new opportunities for discovery and personalization in a world where noise is expanding much faster than signal (see last week’s fire in the blogosphere about Google’s losing battle against spam). This has significant implications in areas like search. Bing and Blekko have already announced integration of “like” data into search results to help improve discovery and relevance. Expect better utilization of this data and new discovery services to follow suit.
Like-ification of advertising
The holy grail in advertising is when the content is the advertising and vice versa. “Like” data gives advertisers the ability to personalize their message to an audience of one and target messages only to those that have expressed intent and interest. While Facebook itself is in pole position to leverage this data, in the rapidly expanding display advertising business, like-ification also has big implications for other stakeholders in the space. Retargeting vendors like AdRoll, Retargeter, and TellApart are already using your click history as a proxy for consumer intent, and data vendors like BlueKai and eXelate are building intent data about consumers all around the web.
While I expect to see continued vigorous privacy debates as consumers lobby for the proper controls over their data, imagine the value of explicit social expressions of consumer interest as the display ad market continues to heat up in 2011.
Like-ification of the real world
Finally, “likes” are coming out of their digital cage and into the analog world. Digital metadata is being layered onto the physical world. And ubiquitous access to sensor-laden mobile devices means that user data and intent is now being captured about physical locations like “check-ins” on Foursquare and Facebook Places, personal activity with Nike Fit and FitBit, the things we buy on apps like StickyBits, and even the stuff we see (it’s not just TV — remember this awesome Word Lens translation demo?).
Smart devices are growing in number and even more stacked with real robotics capabilities (Near Field Communications chips, image recognition) embedded at consumer price points. Our personal devices can increasingly perceive the physical world, and it’s not hard to imagine the physical world increasingly recognizing us. My Xbox Kinect already authenticates my face and pairs it with my player profile. Imagine what that could mean for your status updates.
Big changes are afoot in 2011. I think entrepreneurs are going to heart them.
Saad Khan likes his day job as a seed investor at CMEA Capital and giving love to his portfolio companies Blekko, Pixazza, Evolution Robotics, and Jobvite. You can follow him on Twitter @saadventures
BRILLIANT!
Liking is definitely the new black. Heck, I feel offended when I’m not “liked” multiple times in a day. Is that bad?
Thanks for sharing — and for allowing us to “Like” it!
Don’t worry, I have like-esteem problems myself.
+1
Haha, I ‘like’ this. You’re one of my virtual high fives
I’m a university student and I was actually discussing the same thing with my Economics professor today – capitalizing on the Like.
I’ve subscribed to your blog, so I look forward to liking more things around here.
sweet. Say hi to your Econ prof for me.
How crazy. The ‘like’ button across the web is not even a year-old, is it? I thought it came out in Aprilish. But it’s here!
Your story about liking a song on the radio reminds me of how I react to thinks when I’ve been writing or designing too often. I can undo (Ctrl+Z) up to 20 times in my word processor and my design software. And one morning after staying up very late finishing a project I accidentally knocked everything off of my bathroom sink. My first thought: Ctrl+ Z. Yeah…that didn’t work.
I actually think a “Ctrl+ Z” in real life would be much more useful than a “like”. I suspect Facebook will be rolling it out next year.
Very funny Crystal! My daughter just did the same last night. I was in the kitchen and she, who had been quiet at the dining room table, said loudly, “Oh! Control Z!” Turns out she had just completed half a page of algebra calculations and realized she had been doing it wrong. It didn’t work for her, either.
I have a similar problem in which I believe that every media has the ability to rewind, like my DVR system on the television. I’ll be in the car listening to the radio and miss it, and reach my hand out to rewind… only my 8-year old car with analog radio doesn’t have the ability.
I actually find myself surprised when I am at someone’s house and they don’t have a DVR on their television, or if I’m watching a football game at a pub and want to slow-mo the last play, and the establishment doesn’t have a DVR or a remote control accessible to the rabid sports fans chomping down wings and hollering about the ref’s bad call. (And yes, I’m a female who watches football and yells that the refs!!)
Well, the good news for people like us is that Pandora is rolling out in a lot more cards now. And a”thumbs up” is almost as cathartic as a “like”.
Be nice to pause the real world, wouldn’t it?
LOVE IT!!
Congrats on being Freshly Pressed
I like , I like it!
Great post!
I really like liking. I haven’t previously considered virtual high-fives though. Well done!
You just gave me a virtual high five.
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As much as I love the “like” button, I sometimes wish there was a “dislike” button. Then again, I don’t think I’d want a “dislike” button on my blog, so I can understand why it doesn’t exist.
Odd that you say that; I’d love a dislike button on my blog (I feel that more people would use it as opposed to the ‘like’ button). I like criticism – if something’s worth reading and then disliking, it must be doing it’s job, no?
I suspect we’d probably be hitting the “eh” (shrugged shoulders) button most of the time.
But I agree it would be good to give a range of options beyond like — all would be very valuable data in the “expression graph”
I agree. Especially if it would be used with advertising. I want to ‘dislike’ moving adverts on the web – I find them horribly distracting if I’m trying to read. And as far as FB goes, I would also like to be able to ‘dislike’ a friend’s status if they say they feel sick or unhappy. It needn’t be always a mean thing. It’s good that FB allows you to thumbs down their adverts, if only they would listen! I double dislike when an advert I have thumbs downed comes up again!
It’s all so Vernor Vingean!
Great article and love your sense of humor at the end with businesses “hearting” the future. You make several great points here about our changing world, and we don’t really take an active notice of it. We’re all absent mindedly liking things or using programs like shazzam and chacha to find instant names of songs we like, or answers to questions we don’t know. It’s pretty crazy when you start to actively think about it and very interesting. Great post!
I experienced something very similar in my car. I was listening to some talking head and there was a phrase that I didn’t quite hear. I then was looking for my remote to rewind it. It was obvious my Tivo brain had kicked in.
I like like not just like but like like like-ification.
feels like you have to add an “ification” to make anything sound substantial.
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I really like “like-ing”.
I feel that it helps us to figure out what it is we really respond to. I can see a time when our cellphones not only control all our media, but when we “Like” or “Dislike” what we see on a second-to-second basis – thus refining what entertainment actually is, to a science.
Though a warning is needed here: Restraint should be used when using your incredible “like” powers good people, as it is a veritable vote for whatever it is you are “like-ing”, to stick around.
Anyway, sweet post,
Gratz on being FP, and for being “liked” by the Times!
~J
As Peter Parker’s uncle once said: “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Wield yours carefully.
Great article! I often “like” in my mind now…I even visualize the like button. Yikes.
I think I need a break from Facebook.
seriously. but keep reading blogs.
Great piece and congrats on being FP! One question: if we allocate LIKES so frequently, does it not lose its impact after a while. If I complimented you all the time, after a while it would lose its power, wouldn’t it? What about those posts that really are worthy? Maybe we need a REALLY LIKE or LOVE?? lol. Congrats again…..
http://wordsonmusicmyblog.wordpress.com/
http://autismdad1966.wordpress.com/
As for FB, I think liking is a function of our want to connect, but not that much. So we “Like” statuses and posts, so that we show we’re reading and “keeping in touch.”
I find it to be an underhanded, but effective, way to better offer content, especially with the power of OpenGraph for content providers.
I “like” this!!
Awesome job on the post!!
after facebook introduced the like button, my Likes have been increasing. Now, i lost track of what i like and what i don’t … so i started to like everything!!! Especially. this article
well, as long as you keep track of that last point, everything else should be fine.
“Like-ification.” Read the title because it sounded like a Bushism… and was treated to a truly original article. Nice work!
Let us all congratulafy you on wordificating yourself into Freshly Pressed.
Freshly Pressed — ah, so that’s what was going on. I was wondering about all the love (not that i don’t heart it or anything).
I know a lot of people like “like” and I like “like” but I do wish for a “dislike” button so I can get let the powers that be know my feelings the other way too. Are we as a society becoming so hooked on Facebook that all of our online life will become a “like” experience.
I hope we all find a life outside of our online life. In the meanwhile, I’ll keep blogging.
I love like-ing. It says a lot but at the same time it’s so convenient for the like-er.
Cheers!
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Now that you said it, I do Like things a lot. Maybe I should go on a ‘Liking’ diet.
i think that while some of the uses of ‘like’ are interesting and certainly exploitable on a business level (and yay, of course i want the advertisers to know exactly what they should push into my face, mmh), the use of ‘like’ in blogs or facebook makes it easy for people to have non-committing, time-saving followers in great numbers, but it’s soo much more gratifying to have actual comments, at least for me.
As for the need to immediately communicate what we see, hear and LIKE, I believe it’s a bit like that tourist who visits a place and instead of really taking it in and enjoying the scenery, he is too busy taking photos for others or later to actually have a good time while he’s there.
so ‘like’ing a song on the radio ?.. just enjoy the groove while it’s on maybe ?
Saad, thanks for sharing your blog. I “liked” it so I am going to follow. Adios brother.
thanks dawg!
I remember only once did I click a bottom that said “Likes” and I it kept asking me why I did that. I have read articles that I liked as well as I disliked. I just want no more than think about the subject. And I think I will continue doing that.
Comments I made a lot. Comment is more specific and limited to the exact part that I liked or disliked, I guess that’s why.
Clicking “Likes” encourages. Fine.
I like that WordPress keeps track of my liked reading material, in case I want to look for something again later. Other entities tracking the information is less appealing.
Like? A little mundane, isn’t it? How about “Really Rad!” or “Sick!” even; “Sick!” is the new “Phat!” I’m waiting for the button that says, “Man, this really sucked.”
You just said there what was always in my mind. Yeah, one that said “sick”, “ridiculous”, “outrageous”… so I will know. They’re rare.
WordPress should make that available.
i ‘Like’ i ‘Love’ nice one! kudos!
And yes. Some varieties of them. Like, sometimes I felt like contributing to polls but the I don’t see the phrase exact or appropriate to how I felt about the matter.
Just two “like” situations from facebook.
My friend’s mother is fighting with cancer. My friend write desperate note – full of suffering and being hopeless. Five people “like” it. I do not condemn Them. I was thinking for half an hour what am I to write to her. I still think. I still did not push the “like” button. Why? It’s just a button to express any feeling.
Second situation:
A person I know from a dark side put a photo on facebook. A lot of people know him from this dark side. At work he is a pig-human. He looks like an idiot on the photograph. Many many people pushed the ‘like” button.
thanks to you i got a brilliant idea for my blog but i took a different take on the subject, a little facebook approach
http://fruitcakefungus.wordpress.com/category/life/social/
How soon to you think our little devices will identify who we are. Not that it would be a bad thing for example IDing a person unconscience or confused. Hey,maybe this would curve crime Foursquares : John Doe checked in @ Puddles Pad 18:00 . Crime lab could search for address or Puddles Pad and there is a list of everyone that was in there and maybe solve the crime. Of course,if pre-meditated you could pre-empty your pockets …totally off the subject but you totally have me thinking ! So I am ABSOLUTELY LIKING this article, Thumps up ! By the way, being Human makes a replay button a mute point ,how would we learn and how far would you rewind ? Have a Great Day and stop by a visit some time . I invite you to make me re-think my thoughts and help make me a better person. May Good Fortune find your doorway in 2011.
I agree with the first paragraph written by kerfung. That is mainly my purpose in using the like button since I’m more often likely to use it on the status updates of friends or things they have linked to. I don’t really actively source things to “like” online.
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lol… I like your blog. ZW
I really loved this blog, I immediately related myself to the first part of the blog. I remember a week ago I went to a restaurant I really liked, and I thought to myself “I wish I could lick on the ‘like’ button somewhere”… then after experiencing a wonderful night with my wife at that restaurant, I wanted to click the “like” button again. I got the “like” fever too!
its like crack. or so they tell me.
Like.
The basic premise of FB is to find what your friends are “liking” and then liking it. I am sure many people click “like” on a post in FB if it has already been “liked”.
Apart from the “like” button, there should also be an “not-like” button.
And also in real life!
http://www.cynicseyeview.wordpress.com
I think everybody has a need to be liked, and thus show people when you like things too to make them feel good.
Interesting piece. And even more interesting comments!
My 2 cents – and you can LIKE it, or not – is that from a product/brand or advertising perspective the amount of LIKES ae important learnings for marketers in terms of proposed brand positioning overall, acheiving competitive advantage and gaining incremental insight into target consumers, ie. how b est to allocate marketing dollars.
From a personal and individual perspective, the amateur psychologist in me thinks that in this great big sea that is the internet and Facebook and LinkedIn etc., people just want to be noticed. And stand out in some way.
Even it means LIKEing everything you see online.
Well, I pretty much had an idea that there had to be something else going on behind this whole “like” thing on FB. Not that I’m a big of Foursquare or any other similar apps (I do have a BlackBerry and I still don’t get what’s fun about checking in everywhere you go to become the major of some place), but I guess that when a lot of people start using something, someone else has got to come up with some usefulness out of it.
The “like” feature definitely arises a lot of new social behavior, especially when you got friends that would be telling you to “like” something just because they’re your friends and you might actually hate the content they want you to “like”. Sometimes it’s stressful, but I guess people like me (who still doesn’t care if people like something or not) will learn to deal with it eventually.
Excellent post… Really liked the update on this topic, particularly because in Peru we seem to be super excited about this stuff even when only 25% of Peruvians have access to the Internet, and the majority of young students still think that FB’s only advantage is to tag each other on pictures
Nice post. I’ve been thinking about this too – a lot. And my current thinking is that the biggest and most immediate beneficiary will be – you guessed it – Facebook. And afficionados of some fairly abstruse algorithms. And the rest of the ecosystem, insofar as they get it. You might be interested in checking out a recent rant (of mine) on the topic:
http://insightanalysis.wordpress.com/2011/01/15/who-will-make-money-from-facebook-like/
I really LIKE this post. I have been wondering how long it’s been acceptable to ask people to like me for some time now. I was way too cool to ask people in the playground so perhaps I should ask myself when did I become uncool? Either way, it has always been socially acceptable to like others, thus I LIKE!
This post is sooo like-able
Hmmm..i like this post. Guess the like thingy really makes sense, it’s just that it is being caused. Even when someone dies, you’ll still find people liking it…congrats on being freshly pressed
I feel the urge to press the Like button frequently, also. That’s why I tried to add it to the posts in my new blog! Hopefully many others will feel compelled to press it…
Good insight. “Like” is a smart, easy way to show admiration and props. It’s the modern day pat on the back.
On another note, the ” X-ification” is gaining some popularity as well. I did an article in November on Facebook-ification which is now in Urban Dictionary.
http://bize-mom.com/2010/11/18/the-5-stages-of-facebookification/
For the record, I will “Like” this article.
I agree that the Like thing is a potential godsend for business interests, but as a user I kind of despise it because it so often supplants real communication. If you’re going to express your feelings, then “I like this” is about the least interesting thing you could possibly say. It’s not even an opinion, it’s just saying that if the whole emotional spectrum were boiled down to “vaguely positive” and “totally indifferent” then your feelings would fall on the former side.
I totally understand wishing for web tools in real life, though. I have actually reached for a phantom F3 button while reading restaurant menus.
Anyway. I liked the article, but I won’t be Like-ing it.
I like this.
I think the increasing ubiquity of the “like” feature speaks to how our rapidly changing global society is staying sane. We’ve always gravitated towards people who share our tastes and interests. As the virtual world integrates with the physical, we are finding ways to make this gravitation simpler. So we can share things on Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, etc. and then measure response in “likes”. The internet is becoming a friendlier, more human place.
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Based on your post i created another fiction post on my blog
=D
Thanks.
I’ve recently felt ‘Youtubers’ are putting an considerable effort to get others to ‘thumbs up’ stuff. For Youtube, there’s just too many random people on that video sharing site that it seems like simply a way to see if they can create any type of reaction.
A very well done piece! It’s funny when you find yourself thinking in these computer terms in real life and offline! I find myself saying it from time to time in conversations now! And when I listen to my iPod on my iPhone and I really “like” a song I quickly rate it as 4 or 5 stars.
Congrats on being “liked” by the NYTimes!
You’ve written a very eloquent examination of our social “like-ing” addiction – [which definitely seems to be escalating] – in regards to modern marketing. I’m intrigued by the sociological aspect of this phenomenon. The way it is changing human interaction. Perhaps a prime reason the ability to “like” is so popular, is that collectively and individually our need for human connection is greater than ever – but, we find ourselves spending the majority of our time tied to electronic devices plowing through masses of information at break-neck speed. We’ve sensed this techno-overload is alienating us from each other, but feel helpless to stop the insanty. . . enter the “like”, “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” buttons – the modern solution for making us feel connected again, and that we are still making a valuable contribution to the world! For someone to actually take the time to personally respond with words has become a rare gift, indeed.
[but, don't worry, I still clicked "like"]
I like it!! Great post.
awesome post! though I’ll live up to my blog name and say I’d “like” a dislike button so I could engage in dislike-ification as well
I’m liking this
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It’s not just “like” that’s got us hooked. My hubby will say something cute or clever and wonder out loud, “maybe I should post that on Facebook.” Now, I appreciate the sharing of a clever thought since I’m certainly overloaded with non-clever banter, but most of the time I can’t help but think that he can just leave the comment between us, in the moment.
I think we all need to like, take a step back and stop liking, like everything. I promise to stop after I “like” this post.
This is a really great post, I enjoyed reading it! Its a “like” for me
So, do we have a world full of narcissism or is this a postive reaction to good things that we like….when we can be surround by so much bad news and what everyone dislikes?
Great post Saad.
While, admittedly, I’m a member of the Like-ifaction, the idea of Google and others targeting me based on my internet actions arouses the Terminator-Phobic part of me to skepticism. I just watched “The Minority Report” the other night. The Like-ifaction that is reminds me of a minor case of the eyer reading technology on the movie. Back in 2011, two weeks ago I made my brake up with my girlfriend Facebook official. Since, my sidebar has been inundated with online dating sites.
Still, one has to appreciate (at to a degree adopt) new technology as it best benefits us.
I LIKE this very much. You have a snazzy way of bringing a social phenomenon to light. I think I should LIKE to read more of your stuff.
I “like” and “Digg” this article I “Stumbled Upon ” so I think I’ll “Tweet” it to my friends.
This is a very true post. Whenever I encounter something I like and I’m with my sister, or anyone who knows how “crazy” I am I’d shout “LIKE!”
Virtual world is invading the real world.
There are also a lot of commercials now here in the Philippines where they feature people “liking” stuffs.
Saadly
I’m awaiting for Facebook to deal with the elephant in the room. What goes up must come down, right? Eventually we’ll have a “dislike” or something like it all over the place. And we’ll probably all look back with longing sighs at the era of “like”-only days!! Seriously no puns intended although I had fun with them! Thanks for the post!
i like this post…
Hi,
Just glanced through some of the stuff above and came to the absolute conclusion that a “like” button is a great invention. For some of us who are on the net for hours on end …our virtual world is a very real one and its an instant connect with someone who “likes”. It brings out their generosity of spirit to an absolute stranger….but that stranger too may be very much “like” them. We are the same …..if only everybody really learnt that….and if you “like” someone they are gonna want to “like” you back. Its the Law of Reciprocity…you get what you give….with your thoughts and actions.
Big changes are afoot in 2011. I think entrepreneurs are going to heart them.
Hi Saad,
Its really great post and like to read more of this kind.
Actually im new for this website and even for this blogging world so i dont to too much to what to write.
any i am in learning stage.
Parwez Anwer Khan
Enjoyed the article. Funny/ironic that when I attempted to “like” it, I received an error.
I’m wondering if we’ll find that the incredible popularity of liking will kill its utility for those using it to study customer trends and provide relevant content. What use does liking have when everyone likes everything? Maybe a tiered “like” system with “like,” “super like,” and “uber like” would more accurately convey feelings surrounding content to your friends while providing better marketing insight to those who want your cash monies.
This is so true! The “like” attitude is spreading like a virus. It’s more than just a button on Facebook now. Actually, I’m guilty of this too. There are times when I wanted to click a “like” button and figured out that there was none because I’m not working in a web but rather in a real world where there are no buttons to click aside from those on the elevator. It’s crazy, but it’s the new age.
And before I forget, let me just say, “I LIKE your post!”
I ‘like’ this post.
The trend has definitely caught on and ‘liking’ these days is the quickest compliment…
Hey, Saad
Does it count if you don’t “like” something if you’ve never heard of it..or that you hover over the “like” thingy deciding whether you will or not?! There should be one for “lol” cos that’s used more often. Everything’s “lo” or “LOL” or variations on a theme, like (oops, sowwy) Loooool or LOLLLL…anyway, I [like] lol…it’s such a good up phrase 
And I have noticed that many more search engines are suggesting we “like” everything. I think it was worthy of a blurb in the NY Times 
Double Like! The only “like” I don’t like is how many times the word “like” is used, like, in a sentence now-a-days.. but here, just right. Great post! Cheers~MJ
I don’t like search engines like Bing with too specific results for my searches. I do like sometimes finding tangental results. They may not be related to what I am searching for but I have found interesting stuff nonetheless.
http://legocityproject.wordpress.com
I like it!!
Congrats on being freshly pressed! I am sure you are loving it!
xx
The gap between what Facebook COULD do in terms of ad targeting and what is actually served up today is massive. Especially outside the US you can’t imagine just how bad their data is. I was just blogging about it today. In Greece Facebook thinks that out of 3million users, 2.1 million live in Athens. 1.1 million are under 18 and – funnily enough, 700 thousand of those are 18 precisely!
Only 170 thousand in total (out of the 3 million) are university graduates? More like they don’t bother telling facebook and it has no intelligence to figure it out itself! etc etc http://brandingintelligence.wordpress.com/
That was funny. Pointing the phone at the car radio to “like” . All though I love my Shazam. I hate when I am using someone else’s phone and I start touching and tapping the screen and can’t figure why it’s not working only to realize….not all phone are iphones.
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Double Like! The only “like” I don’t like is how many times the word “like” is used, like, in a sentence now-a-days.. but here, just right. Great post! Cheers~MJ
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