Something occurred to me as I scrolled through my Facebook news feed this morning blindly clicking away at the “Like” button in avoidance of the banal dialogue that often lights up my “Notification” globe like a festive Christmas tree – the concept has slipped. Doesn’t the intuitive Facebook “Like” button ultimately defeat the fundamental purpose of social media – conversation, engagement with content and real time dialogue between live human beings?

I propose Facebook change the name of the “Like” button to the “Fonzie” button. Not only was Fonzie a thumbs up ninja, he was also a man of few words – often deferring to the classic “Ayyy” as his basic form of communication. Fonzie let his actions do the talking (i.e. turning on the jukebox or pinball machine with a swift magical jab, and of course his death-defying motorcycle jumps over a man-eating shark and Arnold’s Chicken Shack) and was noticeably uncomfortable with the act of everyday conversation and social interaction – the synergies are staggering.

The impact of a Facebook “like” has dwindled over the years and now, more often than not, only alludes to a vague “Ayyy” sentiment from the user.

Additionally, in the race to create better and shinier social content than the next brand, many marketers are “jumping the shark” by moving too fast and selling too hard. If our efforts as “content creators” aren’t stimulating conversations and meaningful dialogue within social communities such as Facebook, then we’ve reverted back to Marketing 1.0 – one-way communication that shouts from the rooftops at our consumers and target audiences.

Have your brand conversations and sense of social community been lost in the race for content space and “likeability”? If so, Fonzie just wouldn’t “dig it”.