It may be a New York thing, but get in a car with a bunch of teens or young 20-somethings and count the likes. It’s the new um. Liking is a thing on Facebook and now +1 is a the new like on the Google platform.
Public Displays of Like (PDL)
There is a time and place for liking. Public displays of like, though, are becoming annoying. And with +1 they’ll get worse. The presumption is that Likes and +1 are food for the hungry consumer, but not everyone on the web wants to transact business. Not everyone on the web is looking to buy something. Fotchbook (an Italian pronunciation) did not grow to the size it has by feeding the commercial needs of the people, it created a means to connect and network new and old friends.
Not everything on the web is a product. Just as I need to get out of the car when the teens and 20-somethings start the like talk, Ima need to jump off the web for a few hours when the Likes and +s abound. Careful Google. Careful Facebook. Peace (especially you know where) !