Torrent Of Tweets Dislike Replacing Twitter 'Favorites' For 'Likes'

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- In a move to try to attract new users, Twitter replaced its "favorites" star button with a "like" heart button on Tuesday ... and users across the Twitterverse erupted with an torrent of dislike.

On a company blog, Twitter said,

"We want to make Twitter easier and more rewarding to use, and we know that at times the star could be confusing, especially to newcomers. You might like a lot of things, but not everything can be your favorite."

Twitter's "favorite" button was unique among social media networks, initially a way to bookmark tweets and later integrated into third-party apps that would measure the popularity of favorited tweets. Now Twitter and Twitter-owned Vine will use likes and hearts as social media currency just as Facebook, Instagram, Periscope, and Tumblr do.

Twitter's own tweet trumpting the change overflowed with positivity.

However, the reaction among Twitter users was overwhelmingly negative. Here is a (G-rated) sample:

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Carlos E. Castañeda is Senior Editor, News & Social Media for CBS San Francisco and a San Francisco native. You can follow him on Twitter or send him an email.