I mean, I was fascinated by the elegance and the simplicity of the like button in terms of, you know, how could a dozen lines of JavaScript code, which is the like button, change so much about how we transact, how we communicate, how we relate.

That was Martin Reeves, business strategist, advisor, and author of several books,

including Your Strategy Needs a Strategy, The Imagination Machine, and his most recent,

Like The Button That Changed the World.

I'm Motley Fool producer Mac Career.

Now recently, Motley Fool contributor Rich Lumello'm Motley Fool producer Mac Rear. Now recently, Motley Fool contributor,

Rich Lumello, and Motley Fool Chief Investment Officer Andy Cross caught up with Reeves and talked

business, imagination, and yes, the like button. Let's just jump in with very recently,

you and Bob Goodson released a book called Like, the Button that

changed the world, which looks at how digital systems have kind of reshaped human behavior,

identity, society, all catalyzed by quite simply the like button. What sparked the idea for

the book? And I have to say, I love this comment from you. It was brilliant in its simplicity.

Let's talk a little

bit about it. Now you've answered the question. I mean, it is an unusual thing to write a book

about it, I think, because it's an apparently trivial object that we maybe don't pay much

attention to. But I mean, I was fascinated by the elegance and the simplicity of the like button in in terms of you know how could a dozen lines of JavaScript code which is the like button change so much about how we transact how we communicate how we relate and then of course all of the you know negative social side effects and the revolution in advertising and social media.

It's just incredible that such a small thing could trigger so many changes.

But the more proximal reason is I was actually getting to know Bob Goodson, my co-author, who originally was a medieval literature scholar who

somehow ended up as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur

and CEO. We were just getting to know each other and I discovered in our coffee conversation

that he was a bit of an avid collector, you could even say hoarder. You know, he's collected every

train receipt since he was 10 years old. And so to make conversation, he was moving. So make conversation, I said to him, you must be finding interesting things in your

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