As of March 2011, a new version of the Like button has been launched which incorporates many of the capabilities found in the Share button. Facebook has stated that the Share button isn't going away, but Like is the "recommended solution going forward":

If you search for "Facebook Share" on the FB Developer's site, you are automatically redirected to the Like page. Also code for the Share button can no longer be found on the developer's site: http://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/

Sounds as though Facebook is going to focus all attention on Like in the future. Thoughts on how this will impact the module?

Comments

john.oltman’s picture

john.oltman commented

I think there will be room for both Share and Like going forward. There are differences between the two, and some sites may want people to share pages even if they don't necessarily endorse the pages with a Like. As long as FB continues to support Share, even if deprecated, this module will have utility.

sgdev’s picture

sgdev commented

Sure I agree, although just to clarify a couple of points on the functionality.

The Like button has been given a second option for the button text to be displayed as "Recommended" rather than "Like". I'm sure this was done to address those who feel that "Like" doesn't really describe what they are doing on their site, and to avoid situations where people are "Liking" a tragic news event.

Also the Like button's functionality is much more interactive than the Share. The "Like" allows the user to enter a comment along with their post without leaving the originating site, while the "Share" presents the information in a pop-up. As well the user can remove the "Like" directly from the widget rather than going to their FB page.

As long as FB continues to support Share there's certainly room for the module as it works, but I also know FB occasionally has a tendency to pull support for deprecated functionality on short notice.