Instead of simply liking things, Soon its users will be able to be “angry” and “sad”, or shout “yay” or “wow” – or simply “love” a comment, photo or video posted on the social media site.
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The new feature also has the potential to give the social network’s programs more information to feed into its news feed algorithms to improve content for users and advertisers.
The new emoji-charged alternative to Facebook’s Like button is slated to be launched worldwide next week, the tech firm said on 27 January.
The like button is the engine of Facebook and its most recognized symbol. Zuckerberg first appeared on Forbes’ ranking of the 400 richest people in America in September 2009 with a net worth of $2 billion, more than two years before Facebook’s IPO in May 2012.
Soon, there will be… along with “sad”, “wow”, and “haha” response buttons, according to Bloomberg Business.
Reactions debuted as part of a small pilot program in Ireland and Spain, before trickling out to Chile, Portugal, the Philippines and Colombia, last year.
When they go live, you’ll be able to use Reactions by pressing and holding on a post’s Like button.
But Zuckerberg said that introducing a range of options rather than just an opposite to the Like button added “a little bit of complexity” to a user’s reaction.
Facebook Reactions was widely embraced by users in testing countries previous year.
The company says that the reactions were developed by sociologists, and by analysing data about how people tend to react to statuses on Facebook.
Back in October, Facebook announced it was testing six new alternatives to the “like” button, to express those emotions that just don’t line up with a thumbs-up.
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