Facebook made the anticipated change to day, removing the Become a fan Button and instead having people “like” a Fanpage.
I am okay with this as it a simple change in terms, am wondering if the Fanpage term will be gone altogether as well. Many of my clients have an issue with gaining ‘fans’ especially if they are not a celebrity, but a local or global business. The term Fan can have such a different connotation to some people. I think 
everyone will be happy with “Like”.
Here are the explanations from Facebook which can be found on their website. What are your thoughts… is this one of those annoying Facebook changes or a good one? Post a comment here and share your thoughts.
—– Notes from Facebook
Why did “Become a Fan” change to “Like”?
To improve your experience and promote consistency across the site, we’ve changed the language for Pages from “Fan” to “Like.” We believe this change offers you a more light-weight and standard way to connect with people, things and topics in which you are interested.
What does it mean to “Like” a Page?
When you click “Like” on a Page, you are making a connection to that Page. The Page will be displayed in your profile, and in turn, you will be displayed on the Page as a person who likes that Page. The Page will also be able to post content into your News Feed.
Can I still “Like” a News Feed story about my friends Liking Pages?
No. When you see a Feed story about a friend Liking a Page, there will be no feedback links below that story. However, if you hover over the Page name, you will see a small preview of the Page and the number of other people who have also Liked that Page. You can then Like that Page to add it to your profile, or you can click through to the Page itself.
Is there a difference between “Liking” an item a friend posts and “Liking” a Page?
Yes. Liking a Page means you are connecting to that Page. When you connect to a Page, it will appear in your profile and you will appear on the Page as a person who likes that Page. The Page will also be able to post content into your News Feed.
On the other hand, when you click “Like” on a piece of content that a friend posts, you are simply letting your friend know that you like it without leaving a comment.
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Kathy – I really appreciate how you keep us all up to date on the ever-changing Facebook applications. I think that this change on the Fan Pages will help induce more people to create pages for their businesses. Just like you said, some business owners were leery of having people become Fans of their businesses. It did seem odd – this change is for the better.
Thanks Janet – and what a change it came and went in one day and then was back again! I do think many will appreciate this new term. Plus you can now see what fans are friends and those who are not.
Shoot! Darn! WAAAAAAAA!!!! I’m disappointed with Facebook!!!!!!! On low PMS days, when I needed that extra boost to my ego, I could always depend on looking at my business page and smiling as I read how many “fans” I had! 😉
I do however, like the “Like” term better overall…makes more sense from a business point of view. People don’t go around saying they are a “fan” of a business but that they “like” a business.
Did I read somewhere that they also have a button you can put on your website that says something to the effect of “I like…” ?
Thanks for all your great posts on social media…love em!
Thanks Tawnya and yes there is a new Like button and a few others. I am trying out Recommendations as we speak. Look for this one soon on the main page of our website.
Recommendations seems to work a bit better for my site. since most of the readers of my content tend to be Fb’ers that get to my pages from different articles that I cross-post to and update.