Facebook Concedes To Twitter Terminology, Changes 'Subscribe' Button To 'Follow'

By Dave Smith | December 05 2012 6:58 PM

A little more than a year since Facebook introduced the "Subscribe" button, a Twitter-esque feature that allowed any friend to "Subscribe" to people and posts outside of their own immediate network, the Menlo Park, Calif.-based social media giant decided to change the nomenclature of this particular feature on Wednesday to "Follow."

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According to a new study, each Facebook friend, like, or fan is worth $174.17.

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Even though the move is purely superficial and changes nothing about how the "Subscribe" function works, the move is a clear concession by Facebook that Twitter's terminology was better.

"Starting today we are updating the term 'Subscribe' to become 'Follow' across the site as we found it is a term that resonates better with people on the service," Facebook said Wednesday in a statement. "Nothing is changing about how the feature works."

According to Facebook, there was some minor confusion over what the "Subscribe" button actually did. By changing the term to "Follow," users should understand that like Twitter, clicking this particular button is a one-sided affair. You'll be able to see all the posts and updates in your News Feed, but they won't see anything from you. Of course, if you decide to add this person as a friend and they accept your request, both of you will receive each other's updates in your respective News Feeds.

Facebook recently struck a deal with Apple to begin selling iTunes Cards through its soon-to-be-released Gifts platform; meanwhile, Twitter and Instagram are having issues.