Users can react with emoji reactions in Google Meet soon

You will be able to use emoji reactions in Google Meet soon, a feature the company hope will make people feel more connected.

Emoji reactions in Meet will be available in the coming weeks.

Google Meet also will be available directly in Docs, Sheets and Slides to facilitate collaborative working sessions, and inline threading in Spaces will help keep conversations organized and contextual.

"Emoji help teams celebrate wins and offer support, and it's important they represent everyone," said Google.

One of the design choices made as a result of testing was the emoji reactions' "rhythm."

When Meet participants click an emoji, it floats up across the screen - and when multiple people do this, they all do so with specific timing.

It took a while to determine for Google team what that timing looked like and felt like.

"The whole idea behind emoji reactions is to foster a feeling of connection," said Carolien Postma, a user experience (UX) researcher at Google.

"And we found that if the timing was off, the whole feeling of connectedness fell away," she added.

Carolien and her team worked hard to ensure choosing the right emoji was seamless.

"We wanted to include emoji that are universally understood, and mean the same or similar things across cultures," Carolien said.

--IANS

na/