I Like it! A Facebook Like Button for WordPress
May 4, 2010
by Lennie Appelquist
For a couple of weeks now, the social media world has been abuzz with the release of Facebook’s “Like” button that has spread across the web like a (dare I say) virus.
After the first week, Facebook announced it’s “Like” button, the powerful social network says 50,000 websites have adopted the change.
“Already, just one week since launch, more than 50,000 sites across the Web have implemented the new plugins,” Sandra Liu Huang writes today on Facebook’s blog for application developers.
“We are thrilled by the strong adoption so far as developers realize how easy social plugins are to use and how powerful they are in engaging users in a frictionless experience without requiring them to share any personal information.”
People use the “Like” button to recommend websites, news stories, blog posts and music to friends.
Facebook announced the change at its f8 conference on April 21. At the time, only 75 sites had signed up to use the feature, which is Facebook’s way of making the entire web a more social experience.
In a keynote address at f8, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed that by the end of the 1st day, there would be 1 billion “Like” buttons scattered all over the web, making the Facebook like button a “must have” social button for serious bloggers. (Remember that “virus” comment above?)
To my surprise Facebook chose to launch this new feature upon Typepad, all the while ignoring one of the world’s most popular blogging platform, WordPress. That’s right, the sweetheart of the blogging world – and my fave!
So we WordPressers could take the Facebook Plugin code and work over a grueling hot stove… I mean gruel over figuring out how to get this to work with WordPress – as our heads nearly explode…
But wait, there’s a better solution: A Facebook “Like” button plugin for WordPress! Yippee!!
Now there is no need to worry about dealing with Facebook’s upgraded JavaScript SDK (HUH?) or anything else. You can simply install the new WordPress Like plugin and get up and running in only a couple of clicks. The new plugin works with both XFBML and as an iFrame. While there are some challenges of using Like button’s with the old Facebook Connect library, this new plugin should make implementing the Like button easy for WordPress site administrators.
Whatever… Try it it, Like it… (Get it?) Once I have used it for a bit, I will update my feelings – but for now, here we go.
UPDATE: Here’s the link to the plugin – go give it a try yourself!
