Thank goodness Facebook is not really going to develop a ‘dislike’ button. Anyone on Facebook for personal or business already knows how volatile relations can become. We have all seen and heard about friendships, marriages, and relationships ending because of the social network. Adding a negative “thumbs down” option would only fuel the fire and is too vague and, well negative to sustain lasting friendships and relations on Facebook. Since Mark Zuckerberg announced the development of something similar to a ‘Dislike’ button, I have been thinking about how bad that could be for businesses and their PR. Adding negativity into the mix just seemed like it would be a train wreck waiting to happen and no one would be able to look away as the fallout rained down. That is why I was so happy to read that instead of this ‘Dislike’ button idea, Facebook will be launching a beta version of ‘Reactions’.
Facebook Reactions
Facebook Reactions Photo Credit: TechCrunch.com
These new Facebook reactions will soon be joining the familiar thumbs up ‘Like” Button we all know and love. Currently rolling out in beta test in Ireland and Spain are new emojis that represent love, laughter (HaHa), happiness or agreement (Yay), excitement or surprise (Wow), sadness, and anger. Of course, this still includes a bit of negativity, but is not as dangerous socially as just having a thumbs down or ‘dislike’ button. The reason for test markets in Ireland and Spain is because of the international connection for these two countries. TechCrunch reports that Facebook’s director of product, Adam Mosseri, wanted these two countries because of their international user bases that do not have big international friend networks and therefore make better closed test groups. They also get to see how it works in both English and Spanish. Another reason why these emojis are predicted to do so well is because of the increase in mobile usage and the emojis allow for more communication than just a ‘thumbs up’ without having to type on a mobile device. For businesses, this will allow a whole new set of metrics to measure and gauge consumer opinion. Look for new developments with Facebook Reactions in the very near future! Let us know your thoughts on Facebook’s newest idea. Do you ‘Like’.
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