Facebook ‘Like’ Button Now Active On Articles In The ‘Mac Potpourri’ Column

FEATURE: 02.23.19- There’s a new way to interact and get social after reading an article here in the “Mac Potpourri” column and all it takes is the click of a mouse on your Mac or the tap of your screen on your iPhone or iPad.

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Yesterday — if you didn’t already notice — we flipped the switch, so to speak, and introduced into this column the ubiquitous and ever popular Facebook “like” button which you will now find at the end of each article. Now, in addition to leaving comments, you will be able to show your approval of a story you’ve read as well as automatically and instantly share that along with a link to the article right on your Timeline. All without much effort on your part!

Plus, that, in turn, will create a corresponding post that will appear on the News Feed of all of your friends which will allow them to also do the same thing: like and share..

The only small catch is that you must already be logged into your own Facebook account. (If you aren’t, simply log in to your account on the web).

We have always, since the very beginning, included the ability to comment on articles at the end via Facebook but I personally have found that my stories don’t seem to get many people contributing their thoughts and to date only one person has left a comment on a story (which, I must admit, was pretty exciting considering there have been next to none prior to that and up until now).

That fact surprises and bewilders me since I get thousands — if not tens of thousands — of readers visiting each article every month (just see the statistics recorded for the top five most read stories from 2018 and you’ll agree) so the silence is, ironically, very deafening and heard loud and clear!

Maybe, I suspect, it’s too much work or people don’t like to comment using their true identity and would prefer to be anonymous when leaving a comment but using Facebook and requiring a log in to one’s personal account is one way to prevent spam and robot posts.

If you’re personally trying to keep a low profile on the web and control your public profile, the Facebook “like” button should alleviate your worries as it only allows people on your friends list to see your name displayed when they visit an article and everyone else will only see the number of likes an article has received so there is a small level of anonymity and your privacy remains intact.

For example, when you visit an article for the first time — provided that you are not yet logged in to your Facebook account — you might see the total number of likes it has received so far (if applicable). Assuming you proceed to log in — or are already logged in — to your Facebook account, then if you toggle the “like” button, it will show that you and however many people (again, if applicable) like that page, however, you will not be able to see the names of other people displayed and vice versa. You only will see the name or names of people who have already liked an article if they are on your friends list.

By the same token, on the flip side, keeping all of the previously mentioned things in mind, if a person on your friends list already has visited the page before you and liked the article, then you will be able to see their name displayed saying that they — your friend’s name — and however many people have liked the page (and vice versa).

Sound easy enough and fair to you? All it takes is one click of the mouse or a simple tap on the screen!

We, especially me, hope that this new social media plug-in — the Facebook “like” button (paired with the previously included comments) — will further enhance your experience and encourage you to leave a reaction whenever you stop by my column.

So, what are you waiting for? Log in to your Facebook account, if you’re not already, and try it out by liking this article! Or, if you are inclined, leave a comment below. (And, if you’re up to it and a regular reader of this column, feel free to go back and visit any past articles you’ve already read and do your thing at the end).