The top 13½ buttons of all time
Made Social on 14 August 2010 | View Comments
When you push it, you got to push it real good!
This week, Twitter, launched its official ‘tweet’ button to help users share content using the technology that tweetmeme has made so popular in recent times.
On the back of this historic milestone, we strapped on our digital boots and when stomping through the internet to fine the best buttons of all time.
Our criteria was simple:
Functionailty: What does it do?
Style: How cool does it look?
Usability: Does it actually work?
X factor: That something ‘eXtra’
So sit back, relax, take your finger and put it solely on your scroll button…it’s time to absorb some greatness…
Here are our selections:
1. The RSS button – dating back to 1995 when Ramanathan V Guha ws working at Apple Inc he developed something called the Meta Content Fraemwork. Little did we know that 15 years later its ability to push content around the web would make it to the top of the best button of all-time chart. Nice one Ramanathan. Although the RSS button has historical ties with Apple, it is the most orange of buttons on the scene.
2. The Facbook ‘like’ button – for such young button, the Facebook ‘like’ has made a huge impact, and brought the classic ‘thumbs up’ custom into modern day communications. The casualty in the ‘like’ button’s rise to fame has been the ‘fan’ – now relegated to a remnant of past Facebook glory. Weep.
3. The belly button – Incredibly only entering our chart at number three, this button actually helped bring humans into the world. Clinically known as the ‘umbilicus’, it can be in a depression like state (aka an innie) or protrude (aka an outtie). The invention of the bikini in 1953 gave belly buttons a new lease on life, liberating them and becoming a popular destination for piercings.
4. Cadbury’s Chocolate Button – nom nom nom. Time for a snack break. Next!
5. The pause button – the current incarnation of the pause button dates back to (possibly) the first ever videotape recorder produced in 1956 by Ampex which carried a price tag of $50,000. Today, we mainly associate it with DVDs of Live TV to take an extra close peek at embarrassing positions people often get into.
6. The WordPress button – This one made it to number six in our chart for the simple reason that button is preceded by (Word)press. Genius.
7. Jenson Button – 
Jenson loves buttons so much he has one tattooed on his arm. True story. In addition to being a great driver, he’s known for pushing many women’s buttons. People also know how to push his button – more than 123,000 people follow @The_Real_JB on Twitter.
8. The 4sq ‘check in’ button – ruled by all-powerful Pouty Princess, this button lets you compete for all kinds of cool stuff and collect really valuable badges like…ermm…the Swarm Badge.
9. The Reddit button – the social news bookmarking site is owned by Conde Nast Digital (no, seriously) and has made our top 13 ½ mainly due to the lil guy adorning the logo. The Reddit community also helped raise more than $134,000 for Haiti Earthquake victims in 2010 – making it philanthropic button on our list.
10. The digg button – originally an experiment back in 2004, digg made its way into the social media mainstream thanks to its ability to help stories rise (and crash) in popularity based on the feelings of its community. It is also known for having more makeovers than Madonna.
11. Ejector seat button – this post doesn’t come with an ejector button (sorry) but in other situations where escape is required, this does the business. Most famous user? Inspector Gadget.
12. The ShareThis button – the daddy of share buttons. The ShareThis button is a one-click solution that simplifies social media services, by reducing clutter on webpages, and provides immediate distribution for content across social networks, affiliates groups and communities. Using the ShareThis widget, online content publishers can provide their site’s visitors the ability to instantly access their profiles, blogs, friends, and contacts for easy sharing of their content. The question is: does anyone actually use this button? We’re not convinced but threw it in at number 12 anyway.
13. Panic button – A film from 1964, also found on train platforms, and normally sporting a red complexion, the panic button is a panophobic’s best friend.
13 ½. The retweet button – enough has been said about this and the tweet button this week. Good day.
To keep up with real time button updates follow the hashtag #buttonup.
This list was compiled by our host Adam Vincenzini and our co-organiser Beth Carroll.
