Mother's Day 2016 and Facebook's Purple Flower Reaction: Social Network Testing New Emoji
Facebook rolled out a new icon on its reaction field just for Mother's Day. Its users from certain markets will be able to try out the cute digital purple flower emoji, although it will be for a limited time only. The newest addition to the usual range of responses to posts on the social network comes as quite handy for those far from home who keep in touch with their moms through Facebook. It's easy, fast, and adds some sweetness to greetings for mom on that special day. And though it will no longer be available come Monday, the icon will still appear below the posts where it has been used.
Facebook released the statement, "To celebrate Mother's Day, we are testing the ability for people in a few markets to leave a flower reaction."
The social network did not reveal the locations where the flower emoji will become available, but, this time, the United States is said to be excluded from its try-out. There's no telling though what could happen if the purple flower gets a great reception from the test areas.
Very recently, in February, Facebook added other reaction icons to the Like button. However, this is the first time the company has added something that is temporary and event-bound. This could very well start a new trend on the social network for event-related reactions to be popularized. The new reaction is available on mobile apps and desktop.
The purple flower is placed between reaction icons 'Love' and 'Haha.' With its addition, there will now be seven reaction buttons available for Facebook users: Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, or Angry, plus the flower, with the latest in the line being tested for the occasion and thus temporary.
The new Facebook reaction icon had been detected by sharp-eyed Twitter user Sreedev Sharma, who tweeted Thursday, "Facebook testing 'Thankful' (flower emoji) reaction? 'Yay' and 'Confused' are no more. Source: Facebook page source)"
So for those who don't catch the florist in time to get mom that expensive bouquet or those quite forgetful of calendar events, Facebook's purple flower icon is just the thing. Let mom experience the small but loving touch of the little flower while the world looks on. And all that's left to do is to pen that short and sweet "Happy Mother's Day" note.