The Like button was first introduced by FriendFeed in October 2007 [1]. Although it may not have been a completely new concept, it was widely adopted across the internet in many different forms, from Facebook’s 👍 like to Medium’s old 💚 recommends. Now Medium is looking to parallel industries to innovate on the Like button with Claps.
I like 👏. Medium looked at the purpose of the Like button and asked themselves, “How do people show appreciation in meatspace?” They found an answer in the performing arts: clapping. It’s something that most of us intuitively understand: the more I clap, the more I like it.
Now the real evaluation of the idea 💡 into an innovation is whether it will have an impact on Medium’s business. As Medium pivots and attempts a new business model [2], will the users come along with the Claps? The biggest challenge at this point is the inertia of users who are used to only clicking a Like button once; can Medium’s Clap button change user behavior in a meaningful way?
Craig Damlo is an innovation coach and the founder of Soap Box Rocket, whose goal is to help ignite a culture of innovation for you and your team. Visit http://www.soapboxrocket.com to see how he can help you.
