Clicking on a Like button in social media has become almost second nature to many netizens, causing them to choose it to show approval even when it does not capture their true feelings. Slack, a cloud-based service wants to allow users to show a full spectrum of emotions, so on Thursday it rolled out a new set of emoji "reactions."
Slack's user base has grown incredibly fast during the past several months, according to ZDNet. So it is not surprising that it has added an online fad that is also surging in popularity.
One reason Slack launched the new feature is that many users of the collaboration software want a fast and public method of responding to received messages, like the use of Facebook's Like button to show support for News Feeds and messages. One symbol was an option.
However, Slack decided to double down on the company's default emoji set. This would allow for a wide range of options, as the universal use of emojis on social networks might be nearing its maximum level.
No emoji set would be complete without a classic thumbs-up or thumbs-down. However, the emoji collection also includes images such as clapping hands, a lightning bolt, and cute animals, according to PC World.
Celebration icons in the set include a check mark, a plus-one symbol, and a blushing face. Teams can also add custom emoji.
Slack's emoji set includes over 300 icons. They could be used within a team and company to show support and provide feedback.
Another function of the emoji reactions is that an emoticon and extra message are replaced by one symbol. That helps to reduce wandering and unending message threads.
Slack has updated its emoji selector and added reaction images to its Recent Mentions, so users can view new reactions added to their posted messages, in one place. The @ symbol in the button will show the most recent emoji reaction.
Last month Slack announced that it had over 1.1 million daily active users. It also has more than 300,000 paying customers.