Facebook began testing their new ‘Reactions’ today. Cited as the answer to the oft-requested ‘dislike’ button, the Reactions are a series of 6 animated emojis that allow expressing varying emotions in addition to the standard ‘Like’ button. The Reactions include Like, Love, Haha, Yay, Wow, Sad, and Angry. Each reaction has its own counter, so you could have 5 Likes, 2 Loves, and 1 Wow for a post.
The test is being rolled out in Ireland and Spain to give the service a test run and improve it before rolling out to a wider audience. It’s not a ‘Dislike’ button to downvote content but it does allow for a better variety of simple reactions. Does it satisfy the ‘Dislike’ button crowd?
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the test on his page:
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!