Evolution of a dislike currency?

Awkward moments comprising liking a sad status just to sport support constitute every user’s Facebook life. That cringe of having to like a RIP or pink slip status is slated to be replaced by an empathy loaded dislike option.

After years of shying away from the negativity that a dislike option would rake, Facebook is finally working on a dislike button; or something to that effect. As opposed to the general perception, dislike will empower Facebook users to empathize in a sad situation.

“If you’re expressing something sad, it may not feel comfortable to ‘like’ that post, but your friends and people want to be able to express that they understand,” Zuckerberg said in a Q & A on Tuesday.

While it may not end up being called ‘Dislike’ the option will work as a trigger to make serious or meaningful content more shareable. How Facebook plans to keep negativity at bay once Dislike is in action, is a different question altogether.

Evolution of Dislike currency?

Likes evolved into a Facebook currency for brands during its wee years. The social media giant, however, had to come up with a counter strategy when fake likes skewed healthy branding the wrong way.

While likes no longer define a brand’s success on Facebook, they do play a very important role in content dissemination. Personal Facebook timeline is likely to show a particular piece of content on the very top, basis the subjects or topics you have liked the most in the recent past.

A dislike option might alter the content distribution algorithm as a catalyst effect of divided sentiments that users will generate once they have the option to empathize. For instance, users might have disliked a post which is on the lines of the Syrian refugee kid, but they do want to see that kind of content.

The dislike button will keep brands on their toes as they are most likely to receive backlash in the form of dislikes (instead of long comments that they get now). Every complaint or negative remark translated into a dislike then the ramifications would lead Brands and Agencies into a different ball game altogether.

Call it dislike or empathize, Facebook seems to be creating a more consistent stream of serious content in the sea of  the variety of content generated on a daily basis. It materializes, however, only if consumers do not take dislike in literal taste.