The Like Economy [Article]

Robert Gehl wonders if there is any chance of getting a “dislike” button in these days of “liking”. 

Liking in marketing was always meant to be a metonym for many other complex processes — persuasion, affect, cognition, recall — but it wasn’t meant to be exposed to the public as such. In Facebook, however, the “Like” button further reduces this reduction and makes it visible, making the whole process somewhat cartoonish and tiresome. The consequences can be seen in “Like us on Facebook to enter to win!” promotions and the obsession with Like counts among businesses large and small 

Scott Adams on cheesy complexity [Article]

Decisions that make sense when looked at in insolation make no sense in the complexity that forms an integral part of our lives. Scott Adams is confounded with the decision to charge for paper bags at the local supermarket, and says it is making his life overly complex. An interesting read