Roughly 5 weeks ago, during a question-and-answer session streamed live on Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg started the rumor mill rumbling by admitting Facebook was testing alternatives to the “Like” button:
People have asked about the ‘dislike’ button for many years. Today is the day that I actually get to say we are working on it.
Now, it seems, a form of “Dislike” button is ready for testing – only it’s not just about disliking something but rather adding different emotions to your “Likes”. Or, as Facebook’s Chris Cox describes it… “a more expressive Like button“. The new system, known as “Reactions”, takes the form of icons displaying different emotions, such as empathy, surprise, and sadness.
Initially, and somewhat strangely, the new feature will begin testing on users in Spain and Ireland, with a view to possibly rolling out to the rest of the World before the end of the year. According to Facebook Product Manager Chris Tosswill:
Initially, just as we do when someone likes a post, if someone uses a Reaction, we will infer they want to see more of that type of post. We will spend time learning from this initial rollout and iterate based on findings in the future.
Chris Cox shares the following video on what this current Reactions release will look like:
https://youtu.be/W_ND74CJtC4
So, what do you think of the “Reactions” concept?
Though I do not post on social media, I like this alternative. It allows users the ability of expressing their opinion, as opposed to saying the Like (whatever), and without the need to post any comment. Say a person said their grandparent passed away, a Sad icon says it all, Mindblower!
Completely agree MB [he says as he clicks the Like button] 🙂
First thing why does Spain and Ireland get first crack at this? Second I think this will be a better way of doing this instead of just a Dislike thumb. We have enough issues with the youth being depressed when you do not like their posts. If you added just the Dislike button it would have a major hit on those who attach themselves to their posts.