One Problem With Facebook’s New Like Button: It Doesn’t Work With Connect Sites

Over the weekend while trying to implement Facebook’s extremely buzzed about “Like” button, I found out that trying to implement it on an existing Facebook Connect enabled site simply doesn’t work. I’m clearly not the only person having problems. Techcrunch implemented the “Like” button last week on the day of f8 and in turn, disabled all Facebook Connect-enabled comments.

The reason for this latest problem is that in order to get the <fb:like /> button working properly, you’ll need the latest version of Facebook’s JavaScript SDK. While you can use an IFrame version of Facebook’s Like button, the IFrame version cannot be used to replace Facebook’s existing “Share” button. Confused? Not surprising. Let me explain briefly.

Facebook’s Existing Share Button

Facebook’s current Share button which has become somewhat ubiquitous around the web, is a call to action which lets users share content as they find it. For example, at the top of every article on our site we have a share button. When you click on it, you are prompted with a box (as shown below) which enables you to publish the story to your Facebook profile. It’s a great feature and combined with the share count, it’s extremely useful to find out how well an articles is performing on Facebook. Facebook is trying to slowly phase out the share button and instead replace it with the “Like” button however. So how does the “Like” button differ?

The Full Featured “Like” Button

In its simplest form, the Facebook “Like” button lets you acknowledge that you like some piece of content on the web. However the full-featured version of the Like button also includes functionality that enables you to share the content within your profile as well. This added functionality (pictured to the right) essentially replaces the functionality of the Facebook Share button while simultaneously reducing the friction for users to validate a specific piece of content.

Facebook Phases Out Connect

It’s a great tool however as I mentioned earlier, the full-featured Like button requires that you use the latest JavaScript SDK. This is part of a greater shift away from Facebook Connect, something that Bret Taylor confirmed was being phased out during a Q&A session at last week’s f8 event. There are clearly some challenges as part of this shift however. The most obvious is that those who developed sites using the original Facebook Connect libraries also happen to be the most fervent supporters of Facebook.

While some sites (like Techcrunch) have decided to bite the bullet and make the shift, moving over to the new JavaScript SDK requires development time, and the potential of breaking existing functionality. If the site happened to implement Connect-enabled widgets, like the Disqus and the Echo commenting platforms, they’ll need to wait for those developers to upgrade their services to work with the Facebook JavaScript SDK before they implement Facebook’s full-featured Like Button.

In other words, the shift is not a simple one and straight-forward one. While many sites will probably make the shift, others will take much longer to implement the fully functional “Like” button because it requires more development time, something that most companies have limited resources of. While many publishers will do whatever it takes to get Facebook’s new Like button functioning on their sites, the average publisher may find that implementing a fully functional Like button simply isn’t easy enough.

Facebook may be racing to create the leading index of the semantic web there are still hurdles that Facebook will have to entice publishers to overcome. Have you implemented Facebook’s new Like button? Do you plan on implementing it or are you waiting on the sidelines to see how other sites perform with it?

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1394632 Comments2010-04-27+14%3A15%3A15Nick+O%27Neill »

There is another problem with the new Like button – it just shows the smaller number than the old sharer.

I noticed it during the tests on my site and you can see the different numbers also on the homepage of http://mashable.com

So if I decide to use the like button instead of the old sharer then the regular visitor of my site will think: Hey, why is your "Facebook number" is small?

Comment by Jaromir — April 27, 2010 @ 8:19 am
The problem with the new Like button and other widgets is that it lets Facebook collect much information about our browsing habits and link them to our profiles!

Meaning – each site that puts that buttons, sends Facebook the URL we are visiting!

Comment by Privacy — April 27, 2010 @ 9:58 am
So, what if I want to share something on facebook, but don't like it? Sharing does not mean agree or like the content that is being shared. I usually don't mind the changes fb makes (I sometimes even think the changes they make are good) but this one — phasing out share in favour of like — is just plain stupid.

Comment by Stephen Moore — April 27, 2010 @ 8:10 pm
I believe, we still have the option of sharing in facebook. Implementing like is also good one. having two options to move on?

You mean.. Implementing LIKE will not allow us to do if fShare is already enabled? oh for every thing there are pros and cons ..

Comment by mohan — April 27, 2010 @ 8:59 pm
@Stephen

You can actually change the verb of the "Like" button to read "Recommend" instead.

That's what web sites like CNN would do (makes more sense to "recommend" and article on a genocide than "like" it)

Comment by Bottomless — April 27, 2010 @ 10:12 pm
I got rid of the "share" button on my blog, and swapped it for the "recommend" button instead, from this plugin : http://martinj.net/wordpress-plugins/facebook-lik... because, as stephen said, you might want to share something but you don't have to LIKE it!

The button works well, but it's just too bad you can't add a little comment like you could when you "shared" something.

Comment by Olivier Massain — April 27, 2010 @ 11:34 pm
cant see the "view all" option for the pages. it is not favourable change.

Comment by prem — April 28, 2010 @ 1:13 am
aren't all these 'like' buttons just code to track your visits? it doesn't seem to matter if you click them or not…

Comment by Lightbulb — April 28, 2010 @ 8:37 pm
As a developer I'd rather you like my content. But I get more exposure if you share it. Streamlining these two makes facebook more streamlined and easier to implement and share my digital content and work to a larger audience than connect did. They also said at f8 that connect was going to become obsolete so start converting to Open Graph API NOW!

Comment by insidmal — April 29, 2010 @ 11:27 pm
We have both connect and the like button implemented. I have noticed that it does NOT work using Firefox, but they both work using Safari. On Firefox, one is just prompted to login continuously upon trying to "like" something. But everything seems to work fine on Safari.

Comment by David — April 30, 2010 @ 5:10 am
I see notifications of people "liking" my status, but nothing shows up on my wall.. ??

Comment by Stacey Balkaran — April 30, 2010 @ 5:44 am
Correlatives: when will Intense Debate, Disqus… and other commenting systems migrate to liking instead of facebook connecting? and if there is no facebook connect then what do we call the option of commenting as a facebook profile on the comment systems?

Comment by Noah David Simon — April 30, 2010 @ 7:11 am
Thanks for this article! As a designer masquerading as a developer I have been tearing my hair out trying to implement the "like" button/box on a site and have been having all types of trouble.

The official documentation for all of this leaves a lot to be desired!

Thanks again for clearing some of this up for me. I think I'll wait for some of this to be cleared up before I proceed.

Comment by Pat — May 3, 2010 @ 4:24 pm
Like button appears not to be functioning. I see a page not found error here on your page and I'm getting the same on my own site. Anybody else seeing this behavior?

Comment by Steve — May 9, 2010 @ 11:48 am
I have simple iframe setup for like button. i had 50 likes the other day but yesterday it went to 0. I could like it again but when my friends hit the like button nothing happened. Is this a glitch in facebook? nothing changed with my code.

Comment by bill — May 21, 2010 @ 12:11 pm
i had finish my website with the the javascript sdk

https://peruupdated.com/desarrollo-web/servicios-...

Comment by Richard Legalize — May 30, 2010 @ 1:17 pm
i really like ur comment system.. xD

Comment by Richard Legalize — May 30, 2010 @ 1:18 pm
I am facing another problem with Like button … as I click on Like as get an error stating "The page at http:// ….. could not be reached." but the page can be reached … why is it so …

Comment by Nitin Kumar Jain — June 1, 2010 @ 7:05 am
All my FB LIKE stats disappear in all my pages.Do you same problem with mine?

Comment by Frederick Gella — August 4, 2010 @ 11:10 am
All my FB LIKE stats disappear in all my pages.Do you have same problem with mine?

Comment by Frederick Gella — August 4, 2010 @ 11:10 am
Has anyone gotten this to work? All my code (iframe) is perfect, the Linter checks out, and I've researched it thoroughly. No page was created, when my friends click the like, it shows up on their wall, but nothing in their Likes and Interests, and the Like button count doesn't change. Also, in my insights it says that people are clicking on the Like button on some of my tutorials, but the count never changes. This is very frustrating! I have the width 460px so comments are allowed. Maybe I'll have to take the time and implement the javascript. Anyone else with this problem?

Comment by Patricia — October 17, 2010 @ 6:53 pm
please divulge how. Javascript presumably? Using latest version of Joomla.

Comment by Dave — November 23, 2010 @ 12:22 pm
-Comments plug in and like button not worked!!!!
I have another problem with LIKE button, when I post something on my facebook, my friends cannot comment or click "LIKE" button. These plug ins disappear completely, just me can see them. I'm sure that my setting is right like it have to be. My friends still post anything on my facebook but they cannot comment, although it's their post. Only me can comment. Can anybody help me? please? It will kill my facebook!!!

Comment by xuan que — November 25, 2010 @ 8:43 pm
Can I just use a small gif Like button and link it to my facebook page? I don't like forcing users to download a ton of javascript for this which in turn makes numerous requests to facebook.

Comment by @junponline — February 12, 2011 @ 8:28 pm
I just want the "recommend" button, no counter, no text that says "be the first to recommend…" etc.. is this possible? (if not why not? we should have all options available… otherwise it's pretty useless…)

Comment by mayablogger — March 14, 2011 @ 11:21 pm
my count in the linke button and website is different

Comment by george — March 30, 2011 @ 2:20 pm
Hi, I'm having an issue with the LIKE button at my site: http://www.footballfarrago.com. It works fine, but instead of displaying the name of the specific article and the first line or two, it just shows the name of the site and the site description. Check it out if I haven't described it very well. Any idea how I can change this?

Comment by FootballFarrago — April 10, 2011 @ 7:04 am
Hi, I have just create a page with the LIKE button. However, there seems to be a problem. Several people already liked the page, but the status still shows that 0 people like. Anyone know the problem or having the same problem? Or, maybe there is a setting that I need to do. Please help.

Comment by Xanatos — April 12, 2011 @ 8:03 pm
I can't see the like and comment plug in in FB. Is it automatically installed for FB users or does it have to be installed? thanks for your help.

Comment by z.Garcia — June 6, 2011 @ 11:04 am
I do not see the like and comment plug in in my Fb page.Pls tell me why? I have a MAC computer.

Comment by z. Garcia — June 6, 2011 @ 7:23 pm
Hello,

i have problem. Several people already liked the page, but the status still shows that 0 people like. Anyone know the problem or having the same problem? Or, maybe there is a setting that I need to do. Please help.

BR, Tim

Comment by Cobra iRadar — August 8, 2011 @ 3:14 pm
All my facebook like stats disappear in all my pages.

Comment by Card — August 19, 2011 @ 10:37 am

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

There is another problem with the new Like button – it just shows the smaller number than the old sharer.

I noticed it during the tests on my site and you can see the different numbers also on the homepage of http://mashable.com

So if I decide to use the like button instead of the old sharer then the regular visitor of my site will think: Hey, why is your "Facebook number" is small?

Comment by Jaromir — April 27, 2010 @ 8:19 am

The problem with the new Like button and other widgets is that it lets Facebook collect much information about our browsing habits and link them to our profiles!

Meaning – each site that puts that buttons, sends Facebook the URL we are visiting!

Comment by Privacy — April 27, 2010 @ 9:58 am

So, what if I want to share something on facebook, but don't like it? Sharing does not mean agree or like the content that is being shared. I usually don't mind the changes fb makes (I sometimes even think the changes they make are good) but this one — phasing out share in favour of like — is just plain stupid.

Comment by Stephen Moore — April 27, 2010 @ 8:10 pm

I believe, we still have the option of sharing in facebook. Implementing like is also good one. having two options to move on?

You mean.. Implementing LIKE will not allow us to do if fShare is already enabled? oh for every thing there are pros and cons ..

Comment by mohan — April 27, 2010 @ 8:59 pm

@Stephen

You can actually change the verb of the "Like" button to read "Recommend" instead.

That's what web sites like CNN would do (makes more sense to "recommend" and article on a genocide than "like" it)

Comment by Bottomless — April 27, 2010 @ 10:12 pm

I got rid of the "share" button on my blog, and swapped it for the "recommend" button instead, from this plugin : http://martinj.net/wordpress-plugins/facebook-lik... because, as stephen said, you might want to share something but you don't have to LIKE it!

The button works well, but it's just too bad you can't add a little comment like you could when you "shared" something.

Comment by Olivier Massain — April 27, 2010 @ 11:34 pm

cant see the "view all" option for the pages. it is not favourable change.

Comment by prem — April 28, 2010 @ 1:13 am

aren't all these 'like' buttons just code to track your visits? it doesn't seem to matter if you click them or not…

Comment by Lightbulb — April 28, 2010 @ 8:37 pm

As a developer I'd rather you like my content. But I get more exposure if you share it. Streamlining these two makes facebook more streamlined and easier to implement and share my digital content and work to a larger audience than connect did. They also said at f8 that connect was going to become obsolete so start converting to Open Graph API NOW!

Comment by insidmal — April 29, 2010 @ 11:27 pm

We have both connect and the like button implemented. I have noticed that it does NOT work using Firefox, but they both work using Safari. On Firefox, one is just prompted to login continuously upon trying to "like" something. But everything seems to work fine on Safari.

Comment by David — April 30, 2010 @ 5:10 am

I see notifications of people "liking" my status, but nothing shows up on my wall.. ??

Comment by Stacey Balkaran — April 30, 2010 @ 5:44 am

Correlatives: when will Intense Debate, Disqus… and other commenting systems migrate to liking instead of facebook connecting? and if there is no facebook connect then what do we call the option of commenting as a facebook profile on the comment systems?

Comment by Noah David Simon — April 30, 2010 @ 7:11 am

Thanks for this article! As a designer masquerading as a developer I have been tearing my hair out trying to implement the "like" button/box on a site and have been having all types of trouble.

The official documentation for all of this leaves a lot to be desired!

Thanks again for clearing some of this up for me. I think I'll wait for some of this to be cleared up before I proceed.

Comment by Pat — May 3, 2010 @ 4:24 pm

Like button appears not to be functioning. I see a page not found error here on your page and I'm getting the same on my own site. Anybody else seeing this behavior?

Comment by Steve — May 9, 2010 @ 11:48 am

I have simple iframe setup for like button. i had 50 likes the other day but yesterday it went to 0. I could like it again but when my friends hit the like button nothing happened. Is this a glitch in facebook? nothing changed with my code.

Comment by bill — May 21, 2010 @ 12:11 pm

i had finish my website with the the javascript sdk

https://peruupdated.com/desarrollo-web/servicios-...

Comment by Richard Legalize — May 30, 2010 @ 1:17 pm

i really like ur comment system.. xD

Comment by Richard Legalize — May 30, 2010 @ 1:18 pm

I am facing another problem with Like button … as I click on Like as get an error stating "The page at http:// ….. could not be reached." but the page can be reached … why is it so …

Comment by Nitin Kumar Jain — June 1, 2010 @ 7:05 am

All my FB LIKE stats disappear in all my pages.Do you same problem with mine?

Comment by Frederick Gella — August 4, 2010 @ 11:10 am

All my FB LIKE stats disappear in all my pages.Do you have same problem with mine?

Has anyone gotten this to work? All my code (iframe) is perfect, the Linter checks out, and I've researched it thoroughly. No page was created, when my friends click the like, it shows up on their wall, but nothing in their Likes and Interests, and the Like button count doesn't change. Also, in my insights it says that people are clicking on the Like button on some of my tutorials, but the count never changes. This is very frustrating! I have the width 460px so comments are allowed. Maybe I'll have to take the time and implement the javascript. Anyone else with this problem?

Comment by Patricia — October 17, 2010 @ 6:53 pm

please divulge how. Javascript presumably? Using latest version of Joomla.

Comment by Dave — November 23, 2010 @ 12:22 pm

-Comments plug in and like button not worked!!!!
I have another problem with LIKE button, when I post something on my facebook, my friends cannot comment or click "LIKE" button. These plug ins disappear completely, just me can see them. I'm sure that my setting is right like it have to be. My friends still post anything on my facebook but they cannot comment, although it's their post. Only me can comment. Can anybody help me? please? It will kill my facebook!!!

Comment by xuan que — November 25, 2010 @ 8:43 pm

Can I just use a small gif Like button and link it to my facebook page? I don't like forcing users to download a ton of javascript for this which in turn makes numerous requests to facebook.

Comment by @junponline — February 12, 2011 @ 8:28 pm

I just want the "recommend" button, no counter, no text that says "be the first to recommend…" etc.. is this possible? (if not why not? we should have all options available… otherwise it's pretty useless…)

Comment by mayablogger — March 14, 2011 @ 11:21 pm

my count in the linke button and website is different

Comment by george — March 30, 2011 @ 2:20 pm

Hi, I'm having an issue with the LIKE button at my site: http://www.footballfarrago.com. It works fine, but instead of displaying the name of the specific article and the first line or two, it just shows the name of the site and the site description. Check it out if I haven't described it very well. Any idea how I can change this?

Comment by FootballFarrago — April 10, 2011 @ 7:04 am

Hi, I have just create a page with the LIKE button. However, there seems to be a problem. Several people already liked the page, but the status still shows that 0 people like. Anyone know the problem or having the same problem? Or, maybe there is a setting that I need to do. Please help.

Comment by Xanatos — April 12, 2011 @ 8:03 pm

I can't see the like and comment plug in in FB. Is it automatically installed for FB users or does it have to be installed? thanks for your help.

Comment by z.Garcia — June 6, 2011 @ 11:04 am

I do not see the like and comment plug in in my Fb page.Pls tell me why? I have a MAC computer.

Comment by z. Garcia — June 6, 2011 @ 7:23 pm

Hello,

i have problem. Several people already liked the page, but the status still shows that 0 people like. Anyone know the problem or having the same problem? Or, maybe there is a setting that I need to do. Please help.

BR, Tim

Comment by Cobra iRadar — August 8, 2011 @ 3:14 pm

All my facebook like stats disappear in all my pages.

Comment by Card — August 19, 2011 @ 10:37 am

Welcome New Reader!

One Problem With Facebook’s New Like Button: It Doesn’t Work With Connect Sites

Facebook’s Existing Share Button

The Full Featured “Like” Button

Facebook Phases Out Connect

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1394632 Comments2010-04-27+14%3A15%3A15Nick+O%27Neill »

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