Thursday Buzz: The Scoop on Facebook’s Dislike Button

We think you’re going to like this: Facebook is developing a “dislike” button to go along with its thumbs-up “like” button.

“Probably hundreds of people have asked about this,” Facebook cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at an event this week, CNBC reported  (opens in a new tab). “Today is a special day because today is the day where I actually get to say that we’re working on it, and are very close to shipping a test of it.”

Zuckerberg referred to cases of people sharing unfortunate news, such as when loved ones pass away, where the “like” button doesn’t seem right. But Facebook is being careful  (opens in a new tab) about the new option. The company doesn’t want the button to enable online bullying or encourage competition between likes and dislikes, as is common on Reddit.

It’ll be more like an empathy button  (opens in a new tab), Zuckerberg explained. “You don’t want to go through the process of sharing some moment that’s important to you in your day and then have someone downvote it,” he said at a Tuesday town hall. “That isn’t what we’re here to build in the world.” Stay tuned.

Membership As a Science

A Scientific Approach To Keep Your Members Active In Your Community:https://t.co/ymtVL2CnEj  (opens in a new tab) #cmgr  (opens in a new tab) #esn  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab)

— Richard Millington (@RichMillington) September 16, 2015  (opens in a new tab)

Every association has to manage its current members and build membership—all while keeping up with participation. How do you strike a balance?

In his latest article, Richard Millington at FeverBee suggests taking a scientific approach to  (opens in a new tab) member retention through cultural assimilation.

“Retention is probably the biggest challenge you face. You can make technological tweaks that might help, but ultimately you need to tackle this problem at the structural level,” Millington writes. “That means drilling very deep into what’s happening in your community and making changes that scale.”

Other Links for Your Day

Let’s talk decision-making. We make many decisions every day without thinking about the biases that may affect them. Head to Business Insider  (opens in a new tab) to see the top 20 reasons we mess up our decisions.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Lifehacker is sharing 10 awesome explainers on that tech stuff we struggle with  (opens in a new tab).

There are so many social media options—how do you know what’s right for your organization? John Boitnott shares three ways to figure it out, at Inc  (opens in a new tab).

(zeevveez/Flickr)