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LinkedIn has launched the initial rollout of its “funny” reaction, and users welcomed the new feature with both love and animosity.
The platform added the feature in response to what it claims is a ‘top request’ from users.
Chief Product Officer Tomer Cohen said back in February, “One of the top requests we got was for a laughing emoji reaction. We hear you loud & clear, and we agree. Humor is indeed a serious business.”
A petition started by Teniola Esan two years ago claimed that the addition of the feature would bring a lighter feeling to the platform.
Esan said, “Linkedin users cannot smile or laugh on the app, and this issue is telling. If users cannot smile or laugh at content, then they can never truly feel comfortable on the platform.”
“It stands to reason that if we cannot laugh at ourselves and admit that we are humans after all who make mistakes and have insecurities, then little wonder why some can describe the app as “cold” and why such a brilliant platform feels superficial and unwelcoming to many.”
Esan wrote the petition after observing people’s reservations about the platform despite finding it extremely useful.
Esan also cited a lawyer friend saying, “No one on Linkedin has any failures. You’re either posting a first-class achievement, a scholarship offer, a new job offer, etc. If you don’t have anything to celebrate, you can quickly feel out of place.”
A blog by Jeremy Nicholas also questions why humour is devalued and why everyone is required to be formal and stiff on LinkedIn.
Nicholas believes that as much as LinkedIn is a space for business, it is also a community and a meeting place.
Nicholas said, “At the moment, with travel restrictions, it’s the place where people gather to chat and bond. It’s the water cooler around which we stand and share stuff. That’s where we traditionally share stories that bring us together, like our ancestors around the campfire.”
Nicholas added, “Gone are the days when people only came to LinkedIn when they were looking for their next job. Now it’s so much more than that. Can we please reflect that and bring it kicking and screaming into the roaring twenties?”
The perceived pros and cons
But some did not think the new feature was beneficial or necessary at all.
In a post, Rivka Korf, a LinkedIn user, said, “The reason LinkedIn doesn’t have laughing reactions… It’s not professional to laugh on this serious business platform that people share their life stories on.”
But is being professional and being sociable mutually exclusive?
In his petition, Esan highlighted the importance of corporate culture to any organization and that a corporate culture that excludes such positive expressions of agreeableness as smiling and laughter may not bode well for the staff, clients, and customers.
Esan said, “An atmosphere where people cannot laugh at themselves, their own mistakes and shortcomings, and find pleasure in light-hearted issues is not an atmosphere that brings out the best in people.”
Likewise, Nicholas said in his blog, “We do business with people we know, like, and trust. I like people that make me laugh. I’m much more likely to want to get to know someone with a lightness of touch, with the ability to bring humour into everyday life.”
In his blog in Social Media Today, Andrew Hutchinson claimed there is no guarantee that a funny reaction would be beneficial, and it will probably encourage more people to upload off-topic content to receive these reactions.
Hutchinson said, “As happens on all social platforms, the big trending posts on LinkedIn get repeated and re-posted by others, in a bid to maximize engagement, which some ‘growth hackers’ would see as a stroke of genius, but for the regular users who are shown the exact same joke a billion times, it’s not the best experience.”
However, Hutchinson believes that LinkedIn still benefits from the rise of spam posts as it results in increased engagement, with users searching for tips and tactics like these because of the advantages that publishing on the platform can provide.
In a blog criticizing Facebook’s laugh reaction, Brett Kenyon said that as a LinkedIn user, he does not envy Facebook for having the feature.
Arguing that the laugh reaction encourages online bullying, Kenyon said, “Posted under the right (or wrong) status or photo, and the little laughing face becomes an unavoidable symbol of mockery.”
Kenyon, who works at WAPT-TV, also lamented that this scenario is challenging for news organizations, as they constantly share stories that fall under “tragic.”
He said, “Car accidents, murder-suicides, kids locked in cars… none of these are laughing matters. But this is the internet. There are no rules here.”
However, Kenyon does not believe that the feature is futile and deserves damnation from the platform.
He urges Facebook to consider giving page admins the ability to disable “certain reactions for certain stories” or the option to hide inappropriate reactions.
“If I’m about to post an update to a school shooting, for example, I know that there is no conceivable interpretation of my content that justifies laughter. I should be able to click a box and gray out that option, removing the temptation and ability from would-be internet trolls.”
You may also want to read: LinkedIn releases video series explaining how its algorithm works (commsroom.co)
Jaw de Guzman is the content producer for Comms Room, a knowledge platform and website aimed at assisting the communications industry and its professionals.
