YouTube is experimenting with time-based emoji reactions.

YouTube is experimenting with time-based emoji reactions.

 

A YouTube video occasionally requires more complex input than a simple comment or a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down." For a select number of viewers, YouTube is experimenting with timed-specific emoji reactions today. When a specific point in a video resonates (or doesn't), viewers can toss out an emoji.

Throughout the duration of a video, users can get a sense of how others reacted. In the comment section of each broadcast, a separate reply panel will provide emoji reactions by the moment, similar to features already available on Facebook Live and Twitch.

"You can react and see crowd reactions by opening the video's comment section and tapping into the reaction panel if you're watching a video that's part of this experiment." The test will also show you which moments other viewers are reacting to (all reactions will be anonymous – we won't reveal who sent them). Team YouTube's Meaghan wrote, "We're testing multiple sets of reactions and will add or delete reactions based on how the experiment goes!"

Google tries new features on YouTube all the time, but they don't always stick around. YouTube has tried removing the "dislike" option and allowing users to schedule their comments to specific periods in a video. When it comes to user engagement, YouTube has a limited number of alternatives.

On other social media networks, emoji reactions have been hit-or-miss. Last year, Twitter experimented with emoji reactions to tweets, and the results were mixed. Videos, on the other hand, are a longer medium than tweets and are more likely to inspire a wide range of responses. YouTube producers are also likely to obtain more comprehensive user feedback via emoji, such as determining whether a joke was a hit or a miss.

To begin, YouTube is testing emoji replies on a small number of channels, but depending on how well the feature is received, it will be expanded. The face with tears of joy, a heart, the astonished face, the celebration party poppers, the "keep it 100" sign, a question mark, the idea light bulb, and a screaming cat are among the emoji expressions available to users.