Bob Goodson with Rasha Said LIKE

Like : The Button that Changed the World

Join us for an illuminating fireside chat between Oxford alumnus Bob Goodson and Rasha Said, exploring the surprising story behind one of the most pervasive and influential digital icons of our time: the “Like” button. Drawing on his new book Like: The Button That Changed the World, Goodson will reflect on how a simple idea—born in early social networks—evolved into a global lens on our values, emotions and digital selves, that is now clicked 50 billion times per day. Through candid stories of startup life in Silicon Valley, and reflections on media, AI, and human agency, this conversation invites you to reconsider the tools that shape our digital lives.

Bob and Rasha will explore questions such as:

• How did the “Like” button emerge, evolve, and embed itself in social media’s architecture?
• What does it reveal about human desires for affirmation, connection and attention?
• In an age of AI and algorithmic feedback loops, how might our relationships with digital tools change—and what might that mean for selfhood and society?

There will be time for audience Q&A, and a book signing will follow the event.

Bob Goodson

Bob Goodson is President and Founder of Quid, a Silicon Valley–based company whose AI models are used by a third of the Fortune 50. Before founding Quid, he was the first employee at Yelp, where he contributed to the early conception of a “like” mechanic and witnessed firsthand the rise of the social media era. Quid was recognized in 2016 by the World Economic Forum for “Contributions to the Future of the Internet,” and Goodson served a two-year term on WEF’s Global Future Council on Artificial Intelligence & Robotics.

Bob studied at the University of Oxford (Matriculated 2002 at University College), where he pursued graduate research in language theory and co-founded Oxford Entrepreneurs to bring scientists and business-minded students together.

In this talk, Bob draws on his unique vantage—bridging academia, entrepreneurship, and AI—to offer a deeply personal yet rigorously thoughtful account of how “liking” became a way of living, and where we might go from here.

Rasha Khawaja Said

Rasha Said is Founder of The Toucan Project and Co-Chair of The Saïd Foundation. Educated at Brown University, the University of Oxford, and the University of Cambridge, she began her career at Condé Nast and Christie’s before launching Toucan to champion creativity, entrepreneurship and cross-cultural exchange.

Rasha holds advisory roles on boards including the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CFE), ZSL, and the Royal College of Art. She is a member of the Oxford Global Leadership Council and The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust Advisory Council, and was a Founding Ambassador for The King’s Trust #WomenSupportingWomen. She also collaborates with UNHCR and Save the Children, and in 2021 was awarded an honorary doctorate. Rasha currently serves as Pro-Chancellor at the University of Manchester.

Known for her ability to traverse worlds of business, philanthropy and creative innovation, Rasha brings a broad, globally informed, and empathetic perspective to this conversation.