Well, no, they didn't. Or rather, they haven't... yet.
Most friends' status updates on Facebook are full of good news, fun stuff, and happy events.
Sadly, not this week:
- One dear relative is in pain
- A former colleague & his wife just lost their baby at 23 weeks
- A friend of my wife's family, and father of two young kids, was tragically killed in a car crash
These aren't friends with statuses you can "Like". These are friends in need of a hug. But Facebook doesn't have a "Hug" button :-(
An obvious alternative is to leave a note for friends, expressing sympathy. However when many people have already replied I often find myself reluctant to do so to avoid triggering an email to a dozen people I may not know.
And sometimes it's not easy to find the right words. Often, in these situations actions do speak louder than words, even virtual ones.
So Facebook, please add a Hug button to status updates. A hug is pretty much a universal act of friendship, solidarity, and sympathy. It would be easy to implement and understand. In the few countries where a hug might be culturally inappropriate, it could be replaced with its equivalent.
Personally, I'd love a simple way to say "I feel for you".
(Any resemblance to the real Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg is entirely fortuitous :-)