Sometimes a YouTube video deserves more detailed comments than a simple comment or a "thumbs up". YouTube seems to be testing specific emoji reactions for a small group of users. Viewers can throw an emoji at a specific moment in a video.
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Users can get a feel for how others reacted during a video. There will be a separate reactions panel in the comments section of each video that will display emoji reactions, similar to features already offered by Facebook Live and Twitch.
"If you are watching a video that is part of this experiment, you can react and see the reactions of the crowd by opening the comments section of the video and clicking on the reaction box. The test will also show you which moments other viewers react to (which will be anonymous - you won't see who made each reaction). We're testing multiple sets of reactions and will add or remove reactions based on the progress of the experiment!" wrote Meaghan, a spokesperson for the YouTube Team.
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Google often experiments with new features on YouTube, but they're not always released to the public. YouTube recently tried allowing users to hide the "don't like" button.
Emoji reactions have been hit or miss on other social media platforms. The Twitter experimented last year with emoji reactions to tweets and the reactions were largely ambivalent. But unlike tweets, videos are a longer medium and are more likely to elicit a multitude of reactions. YouTube creators are likely to receive more detailed feedback from users via emoji.
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YouTube is initially testing emoji reactions on a small number of channels, but will expand the feature depending on user feedback. Users will have a wide variety of emoji reactions available to them.
Source of information: engadget.com
