Facebook users around the globe can now do more than “like” a post.
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When MP Matt Warman posted about it on his Facebook page, Paul Mullins responded: “Could do with a few more choices I feel”.
Mobile users will have to install the most recent version of Facebook on Android or iOS as the new feature rolls out.
“If it’s your sister or brother or whatever, instead of telling my sister, you look good sister, you look good cousin, or whatever, they just put a heart and that’s it. You know, it’s like the more technology we get, the more impersonal we get”, said Facebook user, Salvador Haro.
Alison said that the team assembled to reinvent the simple “Like” button consisted of engineers, designers, user researchers, and data analysts – a cross-functional group that could tackle the challenge of reinterpreting such a recognizable facet of Facebook.
“That’s why today we are launching Reactions, an extension of the Like button, to give you more ways to share your reaction to a post in a quick and easy way”.
The reaction emojis are created to be emphatic, whereas a straight up dislike button could be seen as harsh or negative. “We’ve wanted to make sure the product is lightweight, simple and understandable”. It was really important for us that the Reactions were universally recognizable.
Reactions was available in some areas during a testing phase past year and is now available globally. “We listen to the feedback from everyone using it”, Alison said.
The slow test and rollout of the expanded button – which Zuckerberg has said is the company’s biggest design change to date – is a marked change from Zuckerberg’s famous mantra, “move fast and break things”.
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You now have “Reactions” – six of them – to choose from when you read a friend’s post.
