SPOS #991 – Bob Goodson On The "Like" Button (And How It Changed The World)

Jul 6, 2025

Bob Goodson, President and Founder of Quid, played a pivotal role in the development of the 'like' button back at Yelp. He discusses how this seemingly simple feature reshaped global communication and digital identity. The conversation dives into the 'arms race' of social engagement and the unintended consequences of the like button, such as surveillance capitalism and its impact on culture. Goodson also compares TikTok’s engagement model and emphasizes the responsibility of technologists in shaping societal norms.

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ANECDOTE

Yelp's First Reaction Buttons

At Yelp, Bob Goodson helped create early user interaction buttons like "useful," "funny," and "cool" instead of a simple like button.
This introduced multiple emotional reactions on web content and inspired future social media interaction designs.

INSIGHT

The Like Graph Emerges

The like button creates a "like graph" layered on top of the social graph, revealing user interests and content preferences.
This interaction data helps platforms personalize content and define user behavior beyond simple friendships.

ANECDOTE

YouTube's Thumb Feedback Story

YouTube initially used thumbs up and thumbs down buttons but removed display of thumbs down counts to avoid discouraging creators.
The thumbs down acts as a feedback mechanism to improve algorithmic recommendations rather than to personally criticize creators.

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Welcome to episode #991 of Six Pixels of Separation - The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Bob Goodson is President and Founder of Quid, an AI-driven company whose models are used by a third of the Fortune 50. Before launching Quid, he was the first employee at Yelp, where he witnessed (and helped shape) the birth of the like button. Bob’s academic roots in language theory (Oxford) and his deep curiosity about patterns of innovation led him to co-author Like - The Button That Changed The World, an illuminating book about how a simple social media feature rewired global communication and commerce. In this episode, we dig into the origin story of the like button and its unintended consequences - from how it shaped the social graph into a tool of surveillance capitalism, to the unintended shifts it created in digital identity and culture. Bob shares insights into the “arms race” of social engagement, the design intentions behind digital signals, and the eerie power of such tiny UX decisions to shape massive behavioral patterns. We also discuss TikTok’s model of engagement, the overlooked nuance of the thumbs down, and the responsibility of technologists in shaping society. For marketers, platform builders and cultural observers, this conversation is a deep dive into how the smallest code fragments can shape our biggest societal shifts. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 52:16.
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Here is my conversation with Bob Goodson.
Like - The Button That Changed The World.
Co-Author Martin Reeves.
Quid.
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Chapters:

(00:00) - The Birth of the Like Button. (04:02) - Evolution of User Interaction. (10:05) - The Emergence of Data Graphs. (14:59) - The Role of Thumbs Up and Down. (20:13) - Cultural Impact and Manipulation of Engagement. (27:03) - The Evolution of Social Media Strategies. (30:12) - The Arms Race for Attention in Social Media. (36:34) - The Impact of the Like Button on Identity. (41:43) - Regulation and the Unintended Consequences of Technology. (50:10) - Long-Term Perspectives on Technology and Society.