It’s not “Dislike”: Facebook surprises with “Reactions”

Facebook Inc., the social media giant, announced last week that it is launching a pilot test of "Reactions” with users able to select from various emotions – love, ha-ha, yay, wow, sad and angry. The feature is being offered in Spain and Ireland at the moment.

Earlier speculations were rife that the company might introduce a ‘dislike button’ when CEO Zuckerberg announced last month, "I think people have asked about the dislike button for many years. Today is a special day because today is the day I can say we're working on it and shipping it”.

Facebook’s “Reactions” -- an extension of the Like button, is a pleasant alternative to the “dislike” button which many feared could lead to cyber bullying and negativity on the online platform.

"That isn't what we're here to build in the world," Zuckerberg said last month. "What they really want is the ability to express empathy. Not every moment is a good moment”.

The company said the feedback from the initial test will be used for further improvements. Facebook Chief Product Officer Chris Cox said that they studied which comments and reactions are most commonly expressed on Facebook and then worked to design an “experience” around them that was elegant and fun.

"As you can see, it's not a 'dislike' button, though we hope it addresses the spirit of this request more broadly," Cox wrote in his post. We’ll use the feedback from this to improve the feature and hope to roll it out to everyone soon.