If Facebook users were asked to pen down a wishlist for what they expect from the social network, it’s quite possible that a ‘dislike’ button along with the ability to know who viewed your profile would top the charts. As we began to love the ‘Like’ button, there has been this curiosity over how a ‘dislike’ button will work.
The company seems to finally taking at fulfilling this wish that users have been hoping and begging to see for years now. Facebook hasn’t really churned out a dislike button, but has released several reactions in the form of emojis to express anger in a subtle way.
The company has started testing reactions buttons such as love, haha, yay, wow, sad and angry in addition to ‘like’ in Spain and Ireland. In sometime it will be rolled out to the rest of the world. So, you won’t really see a list of buttons, but they appear on long-pressing or hovering over the like button.
The new reactions are simply GIFs, and it quite explains what made Facebook support GIFs that the company had been avoiding for years now. Facebook had once explained how GIFs can make News Feed chaotic. Needless to say, GIFs are among the most fun part of the web and one of the reason why websites like 9GAG and Imgur have so many followers.
Facebook’s chief product officer, Chris Cox, explained in a Facebook post, “As you can see, it’s not a ‘dislike’ button, though we hope it addresses the spirit of this request more broadly. We studied which comments and reactions are most commonly and universally expressed across Facebook, then worked to design an experience around them that was elegant and fun.”
There is a reason why Facebook is one of the most successful social network and manages to make revenue – it has been evolving and essentially finding ways to make money. Zuckerberg doesn’t really want everyone downvoting a post, especially if its a brand/product or marketing campaign that brings the revenue.
However, it is still looking to evolve and give users something more, something new. The company is trying to strike a balance between what users want and how it won’t affect the company. Reactions like anger and sad are subtle and more suitable than a harsh dislike, yet can convey that something isn’t liked by the user.
It will also address moments when a ‘like’ may not be appropriate. For example, a post about maybe a cancer patient, or a child in need of help and so on. It gets a little awkward to ‘like’ the post and here’s when other appropriate reactions could come to the rescue.
Marketing brands are another reason what have kept the dislike button at bay. After all, brands don’t want people or competitors down voting their products. This might compel companies from staying away from Facebook advertising.
Currently, there is limited release and looks like the company is just gauging the initial reaction before rolling out to the world.
