Facebook Says Haters Gonna Hate, Likers Gonna Like

Facebook knows what’s best for you, sometimes before you do. That’s the meaning of a new “Likers Gonna Like” inspirational mini-poster printed by the Facebook Toronto Office. If you don’t approve of something Facebook’s doing, fine, there’s millions of other people who do. And just as with the launch of the news feed, if you hate some change to the Facebook interface, wait a few months, and you’ll probably end up Liking it too.

It’s a cavalier statement, one based on several old hip-hop songs including “In Da Club” by 50 Cent, where he raps “If [they] hate then let ‘em hate and watch the money pile up”. It’s a mentality that has gotten the company into privacy trouble. But the idea that Facebook and its visionary CEO Mark Zuckerberg should push forward with bold ideas because “Likers Gonna Like” is what’s let Facebook move faster than its older rivals, and kept it from being disrupted these last eight years.

The poster wasn’t officially produced by Facebook Analog Research Laboratory, which made the company’s famous “Stay Focused & Keep Shipping” and “Move Fast Break Things” posters. It’s a 8.5 x 11 inch printout, according to Sachin Monga of Facebook’s Toronto platform strategy team who snapped the photo above. But it’s still being widely Liked and shared by employees, showing the words resonate with them as they watch Facebook IPO later this morning.

Facebook’s mission is “making the world more open and connected”. Sometimes that means making people uncomfortable at first. You don’t have to agree with how Mark Zuckerberg does things, and you can hate if you want to. But remember, Facebook’s just the messenger. The message is the future.