UPDATE — The Applause Button has been retired and I’ve built my own Facebook Like button replacement.

Facebook is constantly in the news these days for one scandal or another, though for most of us, this is very old news. From the very beginning back in 2004, Mark Zuckerberg made it clear what he thinks of users freely giving up their personal data to him, and that’s that they’re “dumb fucks.”

But even among the non-tech-savvy, Facebook has become a household name synonymous with creepy data collection, to the point where they’ve now had to rebrand as Meta (a name only slightly less awkward than simply calling it Data). At least it’s an honest name, in that that is indeed their primary purpose, collecting your meta data.

The Like button, first introduced in 2009, was a new and genius way for Facebook to profile their users even more, not just onsite, but as a clever way to install trackers all over the web. There’s really nothing else like it. Other social media platforms, not even Twitter, ever introduced a Like button that you could embed on your own website, in apps, on posts, and other types of content.

I personally searched far and wide to find an open source, not-so-creepy alternative. I finally found it in the Applause Button, created by Colin Eberhardt.

Give it a try:

I’ve already begun replacing the Facebook Like buttons I was using on various projects with the Applause Button, as well as personally backing the project, and creating two WordPress plugins powered by the Applause Button to help make it more easily accessible to people:

Applause ButtonLove Button

There are so many applications for the button and so many different ways to customize it. You can use whatever icon you like, the count can represent a clap, like, love, vote, upvote, recommend, or whatever you need it to be for your project. I’m sure there are even more creative applications for the project that I haven’t thought of.

Whatever the case, I’m all in. This is the one to back as the definitive replacement for the Facebook Like button. If you need a like button, but without the creepy tracking, consider donating to the project.

The new app lets you follow streams and comment on live gameplay, as well as play games from an “instant game” library in the app — there’s no need to install any other software. The “go live” feature lets you broadcast your smartphone screen to stream mobile gameplay directly.

Easy Mobile Streaming

Piers Harding-Rolls, Research Director for games at Ampere Analysis, said that all these functions together:

“…helps it differentiate from other live-streaming only apps.”

He added:

“Facebook’s approach is to democratize the streaming process, meaning any user can go live with a stream very easily.”

During the app’s 18-month test-run in Asia and Latin America, 5 million users downloaded and installed the app, but it’s feared the fact a dedicated app has to be downloaded may hamper adoption.

There’s no denying it’s a great time to launch a gaming app, as figures suggest game streaming viewership has increased by at least 10% during the lockdown. But who is the Facebook gaming app actually aimed at — and is it any good?

Too Many Features?

Although the app lets you play games as well as stream and interact with content, it doesn’t do any of these things particularly well. When you install the app, it asks you to select a few favorite games before recommending some streamers to follow. There’s a tab for playing Facebook games, a tab for watching live streams, a tab for messages, and a news feed tab where you can see posts and videos from your gaming groups. Camera buttons at the top and bottom of the main page enable you to live stream from your phone.

What’s the Target Market?

The main issue with this app is that it’s trying to be all things to all people, appealing to the Farmville crowd as well as those who regularly watch League of Legends on Twitch. Sadly, there are better, more established streaming services out there and it’s hard for this app to compete — not to mention you could just play Facebook games in the original app.

Also, isn’t streaming yourself playing mobile games kind of odd? Who does this? Nobody really wants to watch you play Farmville or Words With Friends, and mobile game streaming isn’t nearly as popular as streaming console or PC games. Admittedly, the news feed tab may appeal to gamers fed up of Facebook, who still want updates from gaming groups — they can still get their fix without being on Facebook itself.

If Facebook Gaming’s news feed was entirely dedicated to gameplay clips and gaming memes then great, I’d almost definitely be on board. But right now, this type of content is a little light on the ground, so until then, it’s not an app I’m going to be keeping on my phone.