Facebook Gets Emotional!

The time has FINALLY come.  I know we've all been waiting for this day at LEAST since last September when Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook was looking into new emotion buttons to give users options other than just "liking" a post.  For awhile, that feature was only available in Ireland and Spain.  Finally, this week, they have been released to the US! 

 

Ever since that September hint toward new reaction emotions, many tech blogs have speculated that a "dislike" button might come.  While there is no "dislike" button yet, the new reaction buttons cover a larger range of emotions. You might have noticed that now when you hover over the "thumbs up" to like a picture, several other emotion options pop-up, including:

HEART: Meaning you "love" this

LAUGH FACE: Means "haha!"

SURPRISED FACE: Means "Wow"

SAD FACE: Obviously, means you're sad

ANGRY FACE:  Meaning the content makes you angry

 

Does that cover the gamut of emotions?  Seems to me that these emotions - especially the "wow" and "angry" ones, indicate that Facebook is set on solidifying itself as a popular place for news, as they conjure up a perfect reaction to many editorial articles and headlines. But did they really need to go from ONE emotion to SIX!?  Looking through my Facebook feed, I have mostly seen the use of the "love" button and less of the "wow" button.  Certainly, the sad button will be helpful now so that we don't have to "like" negative news the other friends share such as losing a job or a loved one.

It'll be interesting to see if Facebook keeps all six emotions, or alternates them, similar to how SnapChat alternates its filters.  I predict that they will test which are used the most and we could see a day where the least used emotions are replaced with other options.

 

 OK, so what are your thoughts on the long-awaited emotions? Do you give them a "WOW" or are you "SAD" about the change?

Miley: Love It, Hate It or Laugh!

"We can't stop.  We won't stop!"

Yes, these are the lyrics to the hit Miley Cyrus preformed last weekend on the VMAs, but they might as well be a description of the public reaction too!  Yeah, we just can't stop talking about Miley's performance!  Okay, so obviously I have my opinions, but looks like everyone else does too.  So, for your satisfaction, I've condensed the most popular reactions into three groups as well as one example from each category that has gone viral!  So here we go, when it comes to Miley, you can shame her, defend her or laugh with her: 

Reaction #1: Shame Her

Yeah, shame is a strong word. But, for some it really rings true!  This blog, written as a letter from a twenty-something to Mileyherself, is a great example of this.  It describes how Miley's actions- since she's in the spotlight- leads to more attention.  But those same actions by an everyday person lead to sometimes tragic results.  Its a good read, and a logical response to a crazy performance!

Reaction #2: Defend Her, Sorta

This almost defense of Miley's actions.  I guess it is more of a call-out of people being hypocritical in what they accept and what they don't.  For example, if you've ever seen the music video "Blurred Lines" - the song that Miley was singing with RobinThicke, you'd know that the women in that video wear LESS clothes than Miley was wearing on stage.  Hard to believe, right?  Yet, the reaction to Miley was far more vicious.

Reaction #3: Laugh with Her

Yeah, sometimes you just need to laugh.  And social media's made sure that you can do that with Miley!  Here's my favoriteblog from this category, that shows Miley pulling her move on just about every popular internet meme there is!  

What was YOUR reaction to Sunday's performance?