14 DAY TRIAL // As expected, Facebook has debuted the Subscribe Button for Websites, enabling users to start following writers or bloggers they like with just one click.
It works very much like any other button of its kind, the best analogy is to the Twitter follow button.
The Subscribe button comes after Facebook changed its heart about one-way friending and enabled asynchronous relationships on the site.
"In September we introduced Subscribe to make it easier for people who want to share their public updates with more than just friends to build an audience of subscribers," Facebook wrote.
"Today we’re launching the Subscribe button for websites, a social plugin any site can add to give visitors the option to subscribe to contributors in one click," it announced.
The new button comes as a natural extension of the Subscribe feature. One of the features that made Google+ stand out from Facebook was the fact that you could add anyone to your circles and they didn't have to add you back.
That's the way Twitter works and it enables Google+ users to keep up with public posts and updates from anyone on the site. A short while after Google+ launched, Facebook introduced the Subscribe button and concept.
But it was only for the site, you had to visit someone's profile to find it. Of course, having a button for websites makes it a lot easier to discover that you can start following someone on Facebook and even that the person has a Facebook profile to begin with.
"The Subscribe button for websites works just like the button on Facebook; once clicked the user will begin seeing the public posts of the person they have subscribed to in his or her News Feed," Facebook explained.
"The subscribe action is also shared -- allowing others to subscribe directly via the News Feed stories, and further increasing viral distribution," it added.