​In this fast-paced online world, sometimes you simply don’t have the time to select a word or sentence, start a note, and then tediously type out a “LOL,” “ha,” or the quintessential “THIS”

We’ve conducted an in-depth analysis of the typical “one-handed-mouse-style” and devised a tool to make sure you will never again have to put down your burrito while reading Medium.

Introducing Highlights

With one simple swipe of the cursor, you can select a word, passage, or paragraph to highlight it. When the menu pops up, select the highlighter icon:

The writer will be notified and receive a warm fuzzy. It’s a nice way to show them that you liked a particular part of the story. When your followers read the story, they will see your highlight, and your name will pop up above it.

When you see someone else’s highlight and want to highlight for yourself, then just hover, click or tap, and hit the highlighter. We call this “piling on,” which normally has a negative connotation but in this case we’re piling on the positivity.

If you are logged in, and following @Medium, then this sentence is highlighted. Pile on everybody!

Read more about why we built highlights here.