On Thursday, Facebook held its second ever public Town Hall (here’s our coverage of the first). It’s a chance for Facebook users to ask CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the product, the company and his vision. Here are the highlights:
The dislike button
Facebook is thinking about introducing a type of “dislike” button, but it’s not sold on the idea. Zuckerberg said the company has been considering new variations on the like button for some time.
“There are more sentiments people want to express than just positivity,” Zuckerberg said. When people share moments that are sad or controversial, there isn’t a quick, easy way to empathize with them. “People tell us they aren’t comfortable pressing ‘like’ when someone lost a loved one,” Zuckerberg offered as an example.
However, don’t expect the company to roll out a “dislike” button right away. Some people have asked Facebook for a dislike button so they can express negativity. “We don’t think that’s good for the world,” Zuckerberg said. “We’re not going to build that.”
Instead, Facebook is going to figure out ways to express other sentiments besides just positivity.
Getting silly with it
The rest of the Q & A carried on with a mix of quirky and compelling questions.
Several got big laughs from the audience. One woman wanted to know Zuckerberg’s favorite pizza toppings. (“If you’re going to be eating pizza you might as well have fried chicken on top.”) Another asked him, “If we were married, how would you handle Facebook with our daughter?” (Leniently.) A third thanked him for driving up the price of her home with the Facebook campus. (“That’s the first time anyone has ever thanked me for having Facebook raise housing prices!”)
The dislike button
Facebook is thinking about introducing a type of “dislike” button, but it’s not sold on the idea. Zuckerberg said the company has been considering new variations on the like button for some time.
“There are more sentiments people want to express than just positivity,” Zuckerberg said. When people share moments that are sad or controversial, there isn’t a quick, easy way to empathize with them. “People tell us they aren’t comfortable pressing ‘like’ when someone lost a loved one,” Zuckerberg offered as an example.
However, don’t expect the company to roll out a “dislike” button right away. Some people have asked Facebook for a dislike button so they can express negativity. “We don’t think that’s good for the world,” Zuckerberg said. “We’re not going to build that.”
Instead, Facebook is going to figure out ways to express other sentiments besides just positivity.
Getting silly with it
The rest of the Q & A carried on with a mix of quirky and compelling questions.
Several got big laughs from the audience. One woman wanted to know Zuckerberg’s favorite pizza toppings. (“If you’re going to be eating pizza you might as well have fried chicken on top.”) Another asked him, “If we were married, how would you handle Facebook with our daughter?” (Leniently.) A third thanked him for driving up the price of her home with the Facebook campus. (“That’s the first time anyone has ever thanked me for having Facebook raise housing prices!”)
