EP 34 - Like: The Button That Changed the World with Martin Reeves

07/11/2025 31 min

Listen "EP 34 - Like: The Button That Changed the World with Martin Reeves"

Episode Synopsis

Humanity has always been interested in ranking the world around them and the invention of the like button is most recent & powerful way that people are displaying their preferences, for good and for ill.In this episode of Books in 5, the author of "Like: The Button That Changed the World" joins us to showcase just how this unassuming icon has come to dominate social media metrics, the messy process of innovation and what the future potentially holds as the giant technology platform companies are motivated to hold the attention of the masses in order to boost revenues.The story of the like button reveals a great deal about modern life as it's spread to dominate human interactions online factors in the decision-making of consumers, corporations and the world at large. Martin Reeves is a managing director and senior partner in BCG’s San Francisco office, and Chair of the BCG Henderson Institute, BCG’s think tank. His consulting career has focused on strategy – with equal emphasis on idea origination and development, and application by consulting with clients on their strategy challenges. He is the co-author of Your Strategy Needs a Strategy (HBR Press, 2015) and The Imagination Machine (HBR Press, 2021) Martin holds a triple first-class MA in natural sciences from Cambridge University and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management.https://www.likebook.org/https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-reeves/https://x.com/MartinKReeveshttps://bcghendersoninstitute.com/contributors/martin-reeves/

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