Facebook launches revamped Like button worldwide

Facebook has expanded its “like” button range to include six new “Reactions”, allowing users to not only “like” a post but also have the option to express anger, love, laughter, or excitement. There’s no turning back now. For instance, if someone uses the “Wow” Reaction, Facebook can use its algorithm to show similar posts in that person’s news feed.

Facebook Reactions are now live and are making their way around the world, so users should keep an eye out for it in the very near future.

It’s a total game changer.

As the company first promised in October, users now have the option to respond to a post with one of the following emotions: Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad or Angry. My guess is that since people chose to follow you on Facebook, we’ll see the good ol’ Like button, followed by the second choice, LOVE, as a close second on most posts.

There were reports that Facebook could be introducing “Dislike” button but according to the company after conducting several surveys and focus group research they came to the determine the types of reactions people would want to use the most. But if you’re on a desktop computer, you need to hover over the like, and five animated emojis will appear.

So, what’s your reaction?

Armed with this kind of information, it’s clear why Facebook would emphasize positive “reactions” and limit negative ones to what are basically the “I statements” of emoji-as in, “I feel sad” or “I feel angry”, as opposed to “you suck”. Not every moment you want to share is happy.

Given the emotional range of items people to post on Facebook, it’s long since time that the Like button make room for some alternatives.

“We have been very intentional about really understanding what people are trying to communicate on Facebook right now and how can we make that easier”, said Tom Alison, engineering director of News Feed.

Facebook users have clamored to add a so-called dislike button in addition to the like button.

“What these emoji do is give greater granularity in expressing what you are thinking and feeling about something that was posted on Facebook”, Blau said.

On Twitter, one user wrote, “Thanks @facebook for all the new reactions except for literally the only thing I wanted #dislikebutton”. We will continue learning and listening to feedback to make sure we have a set of reactions that will be useful for everyone.