Facebook Is Finally Releasing Its Reactions Button!
Remember how we told you last year that Facebook was launching its version of a dislike button? It looks like you’ll finally be able to access it shortly!
In October last year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the test launch of Reactions — a set of animated emoji with different reactions including Like, Love, Haha, Yay, Wow, Sad, and Angry — alongside the Like button. The idea behind this was to give people better options to express themselves instead of simply ‘liking’ a post or a comment. These expressive buttons were released for Facebook users in Ireland and Spain only, and would be opened to the rest of the world once it was out of the testing phase.
Seems like that phase is over now. In a recent post, the company said that Facebook will be opening Reactions to the rest of the world in the next few weeks and we couldn’t be more kicked! The Reactions button will work across Facebook on all types of posts, including ads and pages. Also, it’s a good bet over an actual ‘dislike’ button that could be used in very demoralising ways on the internet. As Mark Zuckerberg said back in October, “It’s not a dislike button, but it does give you the power to easily express sorrow and empathy — in addition to delight and warmth.”
In case you haven’t seen it already, here’s how the Reaction button works:
Today we’re launching a test of Reactions — a more expressive Like button. The Like button has been a part of Facebook for a long time. Billions of Likes are made every day, and Liking things is a simple way to express yourself.For many years though, people have asked us to add a “dislike” button. Not every moment is a good moment, and sometimes you just want a way to express empathy. These are important moments where you need the power to share more than ever, and a Like might not be the best way to express yourself.At a recent Townhall Q&A, I shared with our community that we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the best way to give you better options for expressing yourself, while keeping the experience simple and respectful. Today we’re starting to test this.Reactions gives you new ways to express love, awe, humor and sadness. It’s not a dislike button, but it does give you the power to easily express sorrow and empathy — in addition to delight and warmth. You’ll be able to express these reactions by long pressing or hovering over the Like button. We’re starting to test Reactions in Ireland and Spain and will learn from this before we bring the experience to everyone. We hope you like this – or can better express how you’re feeling!
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, October 8, 2015
