Facebook will soon let you post emoticons as status messages

New Delhi: Facebook has a new feature up its sleeve for those who prefer a ':D' over a long sentence about why they're happy. The social networking giant is testing a new status composer that lets you express your activities with smileys to enunciate your status. You can add icons from various categories such as feeling, reading, or eating, reports TechCrunch.

This new status composer has currently been shared only with a handful of users on the website and the mobile site. Facebook has jumped on to the smiley bandwagon rather late - Google+ already supports animated emoticons on their mobile app, and Path allows users to 'smile' at each other's posts.

Facebook only recently started prompting users to update their status about what has been going on and how they are feeling. Detailing it with emoticons only seems like the next logical step for Facebook to get more users to share status messages.

Facebook is testing a new status composer that lets you express your activities with smileys to enunciate your status.

The new status composer will have emojis that show feelings, culinary smileys and even pre-made smileys for popular books and shows like Game of Thrones and 50 Shades of Gray.

Without divulging much about the new status composer, Facebook said, "It's just a new way for people to visually represent what they're doing and how they're feeling through their Facebook posts. It will only be available to a small set of people. This isn't integrated into Graph Search. It's just a small test to see if people are interested in sharing their actions in a more visual way."

Facebook added that it isn't using the data put up on these emoticon-rich status messages for advertising. At least, not yet. Emoticon-laden status messages could turn into a goldmine for Facebook, as advertisers would now be able to know users' likes and dislikes at a much deeper level.

For example, if you put up a status about dining out using an emoticon of a particular cuisine, it will become easier for advertisers to target you for ads regarding places that offer that cuisine.

Even better, Facebook could integrate this new status sharing method with Graph Search to load the new search method with more information. Graph Search was launched in January to help users discover human connections in their social sphere, tailored to suit their needs.

To read more visit: www.tech2.com

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