Facebook Working on a "Sympathize" Button
The Telegraph reports that Facebook is currently evaluating a "Sympathetic" button as an alternative to the current "Like" button. If approved, users could instead hit the more appropriate "Sympathetic" button when a friend or family member updates Facebook with a negative post.
The "Sympathize" button is the byproduct of a recent Facebook "hackathon" event, where Facebook engineers gather together and brainstorm new ideas for the popular social network. Past events such as this have produced several popular features including the "Like" button, Facebook Chat and the timeline.
"Some of our best ideas come from hackathons, and the many ideas that don't get pursued often help us think differently about how we can improve our service," a Facebook rep told The Telegraph, adding that hackathons are "the foundation for great innovation and thinking about how we can better serve people around the world."
Dan Muriello, a software engineer at Facebook, told The Telegraph that the feature will not work for every post. To activate the button, Facebook users must update their status with a specific emotion like "sad" or "depressed." The end result would be that friends and family will now sympathize with the Facebook user rather than liking the comment.
"It would be, 'five people sympathize with this,' instead of 'five people 'like' this,'" said Muriello. "Which of course a lot of people were -- and still are -- very excited about. But we made a decision that it was not exactly the right time to launch that product. Yet."
So far, there's no set date for when the new button will arrive -- there's a possibility that it may never hit Facebook. These hackathons allow the site's engineers to explore out-of-the-box ideas, many of which never make it to the site.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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xPandaPanda About time. Though, I still disagree with any button for the matter. It never made sense to me why people would "like" when a family member passes away. When it gets a few idiots who press "like," mob mentality kicks in and it starts snowballing. Some even simply text that someone passes away. When someone passes away, the first degree relatives a phone call. Otherwise, respect is when you actually give the time to make a personalized comment. I would not want a 'like,' which is on par with 'liking' a cat video.Reply -
expl0itfinder So when are they adding the IDGAF button? I feel as though that would be way more useful than any "like" or "sympathize" button.Reply -
thasan1 still waiting for negative button's like "downvote" "i don't give a S#!T button" etc it would be epic :D. though "sympathize" button would be of more use when Paul walker or Mandela died. RIP bothReply -
virtualban Facebook has the need to not put a dislike button, because if they do, people will not be compelled to write a comment feedback perpetuating the display of ads, they will be done with just a dislike. If they implement a downvote/dislike button, any negative post can have the like/dislike ratio it deserves and people will not click it, generating less revenue for facebook. As it is currently, any stupid post will still get a bunch of likes anyway. People are the product being sold, not the customer. Don't expect a dislike button that can hurt the feelings of the poster (or that's their excuse). Expect more of the same stuff we have seen always.Reply