Facebook is reported to be testing a new star-rating system on pages, allowing users to rate then from 1 to 5 stars. according to a TechCrunch tip.
Facebook is probably making this move as the “like” has becomeconfusing and over-used. There is indeed no real way to check whether a user liked a page because they actually support the brand or simply to express support or even to stay informed about things they don’t even like but feel they should know about.
Therefore a page number of likes is more of an indication of how many people talk about it rather than how they actually do feel about it
By adding a public rating feature, Facebook would allow users to share more concrete opinions or learn more about a business or restaurant. It also would put Facebook more directly in competition with the likes of Yelp and FourSquare.
This goes along with Facebook’s recent move to change the “like” button on websites.
A Facebook spokesperson provided the following confirmation and info from the company:
We’re extending star ratings on Facebook from mobile to desktop – to make it easier for people to discover great businesses around them. This is beneficial for both businesses and consumers. Star ratings encourage more people to rate a business, making it eligible to appear in News Feed and help others discover a business they didn’t know about previously. For businesses themselves, this also leads to greater brand awareness.
As you may recall, star ratings launched in early 2012 with the introduction of Nearby on mobile. Now we’re bringing the visibility of star ratings to a more prominent spot at the top of Pages’ timeline on desktop and to the preview in News Feed.
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