Facebook Borrows a Button from Twitter

Image via CrunchBaseRadio comic Fred Allen once mused that "imitation is the sincerest form of television." Apparently, that applies to virtual world too.

Facebook, the social networking platform behemoth, has added a Subscribe button for its users to play with, in a nod to microblogger Twitter. Joining the Poke and Message buttons on Facebook's Profiles page, the Subscribe button, when clicked, affords access to the inner-most thoughts of participants, including celebrities and pols, irrespective of whether they are among the users' "friends," according to a release by Facebook reported in the San Jose Mercury News, the GMANewsTV.com Website and elsewhere. Additionally, the Subscribe feature enables users to control what content of their friends' profiles they wish to see, for example, granting access to photos but curtailing the endless, dreaded life event updates.

The latest Facebook addition follows its recent expansion of Friends Lists, including Smart Lists, which allows for more efficient grouping of Facebook pals. "TUOL" wonders if a little birdie told Facebook about Google +, the social networking service rolled out this past summer with its Circles, Hangouts, Sparks, Huddles and other cutesie annoyances. Before long, the Facebook site will have more buttons than an Edwardian-style suit jacket.