Emojis have changed the way we communicate. It has made it easier to express yourself while adding a flair to the conversation. Messaging platforms including Facebook Messengers, iMessage offer an emoji reaction feature. Twitter currently offers only one reaction emoji in the form of a heart. Now the company is testing new “Reactions” feature that bundles new emojis.
Twitter tested out the Reactions feature in Turkey for a short duration. The test introduces four new emojis apart from heart symbols. It includes 😂, 🤔, 👏 and 😢. In other words, tears of joy, thinking face, clapping hands, and crying face emoji. Interestingly Twitter tested as many as 100 emojis back in 2015. This time around, the company wants to focus on widely accepted emojis that are equally relevant.
Twitter has conducted surveys and cherry-picked four new emoji reactions. These emojis are also the most popular words in Tweets. In its research, Twitter found out that laughing emoji is the most popular one. Most people intend to use reactions to express positive feelings like happiness, support, awesome, and agreement. On the other hand, “entertained” and “curious” topped the chart as the most common emotions people feel while reading a Tweet.
Twitter seems to have covered its ground with extensive research. Other common reactions include “frustration” and “anger.” The company says it has not included disagreement reactions as it could foster hostility. In the recent past, Twitter has been working on reducing toxicity, and the recently introduced safety feature helps in the same.
Interest-based Community
Many people use Twitter for keeping track of news and other interests. Twitter is planning a new community-centric feature. It would make it easier for people with similar interests to converse. That said, the Tweets within the Community will still be public.
[via Engadget]