By John Whitcomb

I recently was told by my doctor that I needed to make better lifestyle decisions or else I was putting my health at risk. I went home after this wake up call and did a search on Google for free online tools and came across this website called Sparkpeople.

Sparkpeople is a social network that is dedicated to bringing individuals together who want to make better lifestyle decisions regarding their nutrition and fitness. In many ways, it is very similar to Facebook or MySpace, but is one of millions of the smaller social networks that are designed for a specific purpose or demographic.

The point of Sparkpeople is to connect with others to help you lose weight, exercise more, or just make better lifestyle decisions. The network lets you set up a profile that other users can see and then you share your progress toward your individual goals. In addition, you can also join teams, such as SparkTeam NY or New Parents etc., that allow you to connect with people not only with the same general purpose but also who have a similar lifestyle to yours. The team also has its goals, which are achieved as a compilation of individual team members achieving their own goals.

The network also features trackers for both nutrition, fitness and body metrics This whole tracking method takes the traditional food or exercise journal to an interactive level and lets you quickly see and compare how you are doing and thereby, stay motivated. The basic idea of finding a buddy or a support group, or keeping track of your progress have always been great motivators. This technology just allows you to take it to the next level.

I don’t know if everyone’s noticed, but this week, instead of becoming a fan of something on Facebook, you now simply say that you “like” it to become part of the page community. It seems like a little bit of a puzzling, “tomato, tomahto” change, but I have to say that…I LIKE it!

Why? Because psychologically, the word “fan” implies a little too much adoration for my taste; a little too much zealotry, perhaps. It makes me feel like a screaming 10-year-old at a Justin Bieber concert. But simply liking something is much cooler. It implies all the approval without the emotional commitment.

The “like” option is a way to put in your two cents with a touch of the button. It’s instant validation and positive reinforcement for the “likee,” and it provides the feeling of being heard for the “liker.” When you click that little thumbs-up icon, you’re like a professional critic giving your approval…you’re like Chuck Norris…you’re like The Fonz! And the absence of a “dislike” button is a gentle reminder that if you don’t have something nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all.

And while I could be imagining it, I feel like our clients’ brand pages have experienced a little jump in numbers since people are “liking” them rather than “becoming fans.” I’m curious to know…are people liking more than they were fanning?

What do you think? Do you like it?