Facebook Adds Stars To "Like" System on Desktop Pages

Don't "like" Facebook's bi-polar rating system? You may be in luck: Zuckerberg's social network is trying out a new star system.

Facebook is extending the 5 star-based rating system from Facebook mobile to desktop, according to an updated report from TechCrunch. After some Facebook-watching sites noticed that some Facebook pages included five stars below the banner, Facebook confirmed to TechCrunch that this, indeed, was intentionally happening.

According to the Facebook confirmation:

"We're extending star ratings on Facebook from mobile to desktop - to make it easier for people to discover great businesses around them. This is beneficial for both businesses and consumers. Star ratings encourage more people to rate a business, making it eligible to appear in News Feed and help others discover a business they didn't know about previously. For businesses themselves, this also leads to greater brand awareness." 

So far it looks like Facebook has extended the ratings system to established businesses, but that's a pretty extensive category in its reach, including large businesses and local companies.

And it looks like Facebook isn't getting rid of the "Like," but rather using the star system to provide more clarity and precision to businesses' Facebook pages. Facebook isn't the only online social platform that has moved from its own somewhat obscure ratings system towards a five star standard.

Earlier this year, as part of a major update to Google Maps and Zagat (one of the ratings agencies Google uses to provide information about businesses on its Maps network), Google dropped Zagat's long-running 30-point rating scale in favor of the five star system - something that could be more easily comprehended at a glance.

 Facebook first introduced the five star system in early 2012 with the introduction of the Google Maps competitor "Nearby" on its mobile platform. Now the top of desktop pages and the News Feed preview will feature a five star rating as well.