Like
The Button That Changed the World
Published on 29. April 2025
Book
Hardback
272 pages
979-8-89279-045-1 (ISBN)
Description
A riveting, insider's look at the creation and evolution of the like button and what it reveals about innovation, business, and culture-and its profound impact on modern human interaction.
"...an entertaining new book by Martin Reeves and Bob Goodson on the origins of the "like" button." - The Economist
Over 160 billion times a day, someone taps a like button. How could something that came out of nowhere become so ubiquitous-and even so addictive? How did this seemingly ordinary social media icon go from such a small and unassuming invention to something so intuitive and universally understood that it has scaled well beyond its original intent?
This is the story of the like button and how it changed our lives. In Like, bestselling author and renowned strategy expert Martin Reeves and coauthor Bob Goodson-Silicon Valley veteran and one of the originators of the like button-take readers on a quest to uncover the origins of the thumbs-up gesture, how it became an icon on social media, and what's behind its power.
Through insights from key players, including the founders of Yelp, PayPal, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Gmail, and FriendFeed, you'll hear firsthand the disorderly, serendipitous process from which the like button was born. It's a story that starts with a simple thumbs-up cartoon but ends up with surprises and new mysteries at every turn, some of them as deep as anthropological history and others as speculative as the AI-charged future.
But this is much more than the origin story of the like button. Drawing on business and innovation theory, evolutionary biology, social psychology, neuroscience, and other human-centered disciplines, this deeply researched book offers smart and unexpected insights into how this little icon changed our world-and all of us in the process.
"...an entertaining new book by Martin Reeves and Bob Goodson on the origins of the "like" button." - The Economist
Over 160 billion times a day, someone taps a like button. How could something that came out of nowhere become so ubiquitous-and even so addictive? How did this seemingly ordinary social media icon go from such a small and unassuming invention to something so intuitive and universally understood that it has scaled well beyond its original intent?
This is the story of the like button and how it changed our lives. In Like, bestselling author and renowned strategy expert Martin Reeves and coauthor Bob Goodson-Silicon Valley veteran and one of the originators of the like button-take readers on a quest to uncover the origins of the thumbs-up gesture, how it became an icon on social media, and what's behind its power.
Through insights from key players, including the founders of Yelp, PayPal, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Gmail, and FriendFeed, you'll hear firsthand the disorderly, serendipitous process from which the like button was born. It's a story that starts with a simple thumbs-up cartoon but ends up with surprises and new mysteries at every turn, some of them as deep as anthropological history and others as speculative as the AI-charged future.
But this is much more than the origin story of the like button. Drawing on business and innovation theory, evolutionary biology, social psychology, neuroscience, and other human-centered disciplines, this deeply researched book offers smart and unexpected insights into how this little icon changed our world-and all of us in the process.
Reviews / Votes
"...innovation very rarely takes the form of an entirely new idea; instead, it recombines existing ones. And people often reach the same conclusions independently. That is the message of "Like", an entertaining new book by Martin Reeves and Bob Goodson on the origins of the "like" button." - The Economist"... a stimulating inquiry into the creation and consequences of the "like" button.... thought-provoking." - Publisher's Weekly
Advance Praise for Like:
"This book isn't just about a button-it's a compelling journey through the messy process of innovation and a must-read for anyone curious about the hidden stories behind the things we click every day." - Biz Stone, cofounder, Twitter
"Terrific, fun, and keenly illuminating. Reeves and Goodson tell the remarkable tale of the like button-and use it as the foundation for a host of insights into innovation, the brain, and our species." - Cass R. Sunstein, author, How to Become Famous; coauthor, Nudge
"If you're looking for a book to 'like,' I strongly recommend this one. It's a can't-put-it-down page-turner. A fun and instructive read!" - Rita McGrath, strategist; professor, Columbia Business School; and author, Seeing Around Corners and The End of Competitive Advantage
"Like is wildly original. Who would have thought that such a simple button could hide a deep understanding of technology, money, and regulation?" - Niels Lunde, Editor in Chief, Dagbladet Borsen
"Fast-paced and full of original insights, this book will open your eyes to a much richer and more textured story of the rise of social media." - Anna Lembke, MD, New York Times bestselling author, Dopamine Nation
"A captivating exploration, revealing how this humble icon transformed the way people all over the world interact. A must-read for those intrigued by the power of simple innovations to influence society." - Karim R. Lakhani, Dorothy and Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; coauthor, Competing in the Age of AI
"Innovation in technology is by no means orderly, planned, and predictable. A riveting tale." - W. Brian Arthur, author, The Nature of Technology
"Like, WOW!" - Paul Buchheit, creator, Gmail; cofounder, FriendFeed
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 159 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
518 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-89279-045-1 (9798892790451)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2025
Harvard Business Review Press
€30.99
Available for download
Persons
Martin Reeves is Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, BCG's think tank for developing new ideas in business. He is a coauthor of Your Strategy Needs a Strategy and The Imagination Machine. Reeves also shares his ideas and research on business strategy and innovation in articles, podcasts, speeches, and other outlets. Bob Goodson is President and founder of Quid, a visual analytics company. He has extensive experience working in Silicon Valley, including as part of the founding team at Yelp, where he was employee number one and played a key role in the genesis of the like button.