I keep getting emails from Facebook every now and then, saying that so-and-so likes Ben Pridmore. There are, in fact, two 'fan pages' for me on Facebook, one of which calls me a "public figure" and the other an "author", neither of which I would really agree with. I worry that the people who 'like' me are expecting to get something in return, like an autograph or a share of my royalties or something. I'm not sure exactly how it works.
There is also a group on Facebook, called "This is really Ben Pridmore, look on YouTube", which was set up in 2009 for the sole purpose of mocking someone else of the same name who isn't bald. In fact, since the other Ben Pridmore lives in Sheffield, he's probably a relative of mine and so probably will look like that in 2020, just like Aaron Brookes tauntingly predicts. In any case, I wholeheartedly approve of this group, and would 'like' it if I had any understanding of how Facebook works.
OK, I'll give you the basic gist.
ReplyDeleteThere's really nothing sinister about 'like'. On Facebook, there are groups established for various interests. Anyone can form a new group, so you can imagine some of them are really silly. But some are interesting, some are official, etc. A popular restaurant, for example, might establish a Facebook group. When someone on Facebook types that restaurant's name into the search bar, they find the group and can join. When you 'like' something, you are simply registering for notification of any comments made in that group.