Facebook changes News Feed; music up next
Bad news for those with ears and friends with poor taste in music.
The only Facebook constant is change, and user criticism when those changes occur.
Wednesday morning, millions of social media users awoke to a new “News Feed,” and they didn’t like it.
The News Feed, which tells users what their friends are up to, now put the “most interesting” posts at the top.
Commenting on the Facebook Blog, user Brandi Genest Weeks said: “Quite frankly I don’t want Facebook deciding who is most important in my life. I want my news feed to just go chronologically and if I want to hide posts from someone, I will.”
Jennifer Egan Siler writes: “Give us the option to turn this stuff OFF, it’s terrible and makes me want to leave facebook altogether.”
Joi D Cristofori was more direct and even used all caps to make her point: “”SUCKS. IF IT ISN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT. THIS IS THE MOST GOD AWFUL THING EVER. YOU JUST TURNED ME INTO A HATER AND THAT IN ITSELF IS A SIN, JERK.”
Still, more than 1,300 “liked” the changes before I hit publish on this prize-winning piece of modern journalism.
Facebook says the new News Feed acts like a newspaper, which I happen to know are hugely popular with the Facebook demographic.
“When you pick up a newspaper after not reading it for a week, the front page quickly clues you into the most interesting stories. In the past, News Feed hasn’t worked like that. Updates slide down in chronological order so it’s tough to zero in on what matters most,” explains Mark Tonkelowitz, an engineering manager at Facebook in a CBS article.
“Now, News Feed will act more like your own personal newspaper. You won’t have to worry about missing important stuff.”
A new feature, dubbed “Ticker” will soon be unveiled. It will track friends’ posts in “real time,” which sounds a lot like the old News Feed. (My account already seems to have it in the upper-right rail.)
Those who like the old News Feed can change their Facebook preferences to “English (UK),” say some.
Facebook fans should brace for more changes. Thursday, developers are expected to announce a host of upcoming tweaks, including a more musical experience.
Mashable reports Facebook will integrate musical services from Spotify and other content providers in the near future. Facebook will not directly host or stream any music or media. Instead, it will rely on partners to provide the content, much like it does with applications and games.
Facebook recently made it possible to demote annoying friends to “acquaintance” status, which seems to mimic Google+’s “Circles” feature.
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94 comments Add your comment
timbo
September 21st, 2011
9:51 am
Google+
jo
September 21st, 2011
9:51 am
Does the AJC have any editors which actually proof these articles?
Deirdre
September 21st, 2011
9:54 am
Kinda Big Brother-esque(and I don’t mean the tv show) Why is it Facebook’s job to decide what I think is “most important” and how do I know something one of my “acquaintances” posts is important unless I can see it right away instead of searching for it?
I’m starting to believe everything The Social Network told me about Zuckerberg’s ego.
San
September 21st, 2011
9:54 am
First : )
San
September 21st, 2011
9:54 am
Bummer : (
Glenda
September 21st, 2011
9:56 am
I can’t stand the new Facebook changes. I say let the users decide how they want their News Feed to be listed, not Facebook. I liked the old way. As the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
George Mathis
September 21st, 2011
9:57 am
Jo – Blogs are not edited like typical news stories, but if you tell me what is so grammatically offensive (and you are correct), I will happily fix it.
Hindu Elvis Pimp
September 21st, 2011
9:59 am
I STILL USE MY SPACE! I LIKE ALL THE GLITTERING STUFF U CAN ADD!
Winger
September 21st, 2011
10:01 am
Google+ is looking better all the time.
Hindu Elvis Pimp
September 21st, 2011
10:03 am
OH YEAH, I FORGOT
LOL!
Billie
September 21st, 2011
10:04 am
George Mathis: Finally, someone willing to fix grammar errors! Oh, BTW: news stories on the AJC are not edited, either. And when you email them pointing the errors out, you get no response.
Mike L.
September 21st, 2011
10:07 am
It’s free to use. They can do what they want.
bryan
September 21st, 2011
10:09 am
“It will friends’ posts in “real time,” which sounds a lot like the old News Feed.”
What?
loves the paper, hate the newsfeed
September 21st, 2011
10:12 am
The one thing I have always hated about website news is that you miss half the news you want to see. Many times I go looking for articles that are in the paper AJ-C and they are not on the AJ-C’s own website. Searching for what you want on the Internet takes more time than opening a newspaper or a book or even searching a library card catalog. Now, my Facebook “newsfeed” just wants me to give more of my time while I search for what I think is most important.
Mila
September 21st, 2011
10:13 am
I don’t like the creeper box to the right. I am seeing statuses/photos/links that my friends are commenting on of people that are not “mutual friends”. Does this mean if my friends comment on my stuff…that their friends (who aren’t my friends) can see it too? I have everything marked as private…but, surely other people do too! Why am I seeing EVERYthing EVERYone comments on?! Talk about stalkerish and creepy. I don’t think I’ll comment on anything ever again.
Amanda Zarovsky
September 21st, 2011
10:23 am
When Facebook moves to Atlanta, I would love to get a job with them and show them how to REALLY manage their site. You don’t change something over and over forcing people to hate it. You listen to the people, what they want, and consider every option before doing something on your own. Clearly no one asked for this very confusing layout. And the friend’s activity on the right only takes up too much room. In games, I can’t even see my friends chat messages to me. Get rid of this crap, go back to the way it used to be in 2009 before Facebook got bored.
Clare Cosgrove
September 21st, 2011
10:28 am
http://www.facebook.com/groups/wewanttheoldprofileback/
WE WANT THE OLD PROFILE BACK NOW GROUP!!!!
I want private to be private,I don’t want to know everytime my friends post or what they like or how many times they pick their nose …I really don’t!!
CL
September 21st, 2011
10:30 am
I think Jo is talking about this:
“It will friends’ posts in “real time,” which sounds a lot like the old News Feed.”
Choices
September 21st, 2011
10:32 am
Such an outcry! Attention morons……don’t use it.
Bambam
September 21st, 2011
10:36 am
Looks like my time on Facebook is about to run out. Were there complaints from FB users about the newsfeed ? Was anyone polled to see what changes might be warranted ? I agree the site is free but if no complaints were received from users why tinker with something that obviously was working ?
Penny Bee
September 21st, 2011
10:42 am
Dear Facebook:
You need to know that I’m interested in ALL my friends’ posts (well, most of them), and don’t need you to weed them out for me. Really, you’re trying too hard. We like you, we really do. But if you keep on fixin’ things that don’t need fixin’, well, it ticks people off.
Sincerely,
Penny Bee
Jed
September 21st, 2011
10:46 am
@Jo …
… editors “who” actually proof these articles …
?
September 21st, 2011
10:47 am
What is “Facebook”?
CE
September 21st, 2011
10:47 am
Oh no! I may miss someone I went to High School with but I never talked to’s status update of what they ate for lunch!!!
Chicken
September 21st, 2011
10:52 am
First world problems
ATL's Own
September 21st, 2011
10:53 am
I logged on and stayed on 5 min. insted of usually 20 min. this morning. Hated the changes and seriously thinking about shutting my page down. I agree with the earlier poster, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it”???
You get what you "pay" for
September 21st, 2011
11:03 am
Sorry, I have no sympathy for Facebook users. You folks blindly submit to such a platform of garbage in the mirage of being “social” and “connected”.
Give me a break!
Joann
September 21st, 2011
11:05 am
George: Here’s the grammar error – “It will friends’ posts in “real time…”
Dawn
September 21st, 2011
11:05 am
Maybe I don’t want every word I type on facebook to be shared 24/7!! To put this less than grammatically….this sucks!!
Nancy
September 21st, 2011
11:11 am
Do NOT like the new FB. Nothing was wrong with the other way. Change it back or give us the option to change to the new format.
dre
September 21st, 2011
11:12 am
You get what you “pay” for – you took the words out of my mouth, thanks. Don’t like Facebook? Don’t use it!!
Not Disappointed!
September 21st, 2011
11:14 am
I thank Google Plus is the way! I’m tired of playing with facebook and their crap!
deb
September 21st, 2011
11:15 am
you mention 1,300 people have hit the like button but you didn’t quantify the more than 23,000 people who have written a comment saying they hate the changes.
Hell-Bent
September 21st, 2011
11:17 am
If this is the only thing you have to get upset about and completely lose your mind over, perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate your lives. Seriously, people! I’m sure that Troy Davis could really give a rat’s a$$ about the changes to FB. Also, there’s people starving on the streets. Use that time and energy you’re wasting on all this and get out and do something!
Tom B
September 21st, 2011
11:18 am
timbo
September 21st, 2011
9:51 am
Google+
+1
Km Koesler
September 21st, 2011
11:25 am
Well, it did motivate me to sign up for Google+. If I have to re-learn a format and all the bells and whistles, might as well be by MY CHOICE rather than someone else’s.
Dirty South TV
September 21st, 2011
11:27 am
It’s funny, we have a free community, we’re ALL about music, we don’t make changes out of the blue and force people to use them–we ask if people would be interested first. I wish we could get 1% of their members. We would show the World how strong Atlanta as a City really can be.
Facebook’s temporary fix was only working before that time zone hit–now it doesn’t work anymore.
For now-Google Circles I guess?
DirtySouthTV.com
gttim
September 21st, 2011
11:27 am
I may not like the new FB News Feed, but I really dislike annoying, self-righteous, grammar Nazis.
EYES
September 21st, 2011
11:27 am
HATE IT!!!!!!!!!
Michael
September 21st, 2011
11:28 am
I’m going to start my own competing social networking site and give it away for free. Oh yeah, I’M NOT A BRILLIANT BILLIONAIRE!
cbgb
September 21st, 2011
11:31 am
I’m about one strike away now from leaving the wonder of FB behind for good. Twitter is really all the social media I require. If that.
Uncle Joe
September 21st, 2011
11:34 am
The pity is that this “news” is important to anyone. I prefer my social networking to be face-to-face. (or at least phone-to-phone). This reminds me of the kind of mentality that would lead to a scenario like that portrayed in the movie “Surrogates”. Since when to we need some company to manage our social life over a computer?
Rob
September 21st, 2011
11:34 am
I like Dre’s suggestion, if you don’t like it, log off and don’t use it. Facebook is not a given right that you get to choose what goes on and how it appears. I am sure if/when Google or Yahoo comes out with a version, that they will make changes that will not appeal to all people. When a car company changes a model, if you don’t like it, you don’t buy it. Very simple.
ATL BRAVE
September 21st, 2011
11:35 am
I came to the very hard decision of deleting my entire FB account about a month ago! By the way you will learn that even that can’t be done as easily as you would think. It actually takes 2 WEEKS for your account to be 100% disabled!!! FB has become way to childish and you can either resist the changes and make every little attempt to privatize your page and hide it from everybody OR you can just dump FB and find something else to do and not worry about the people you stopped caring about 10 years ago and how their day to day lives are sooo great and wonderful! Myspace went away FAST because of the 2 million options they created to compete with FB and now FB is changing to compete with Google + who will start to steal some of their share. Note to FB if people want music they will find it some place else. If they wanted to read a newspaper they will go read a newspaper, however, you cannot try to control how people should be entertained. Your overall base format of people meeting and interacting was golden but soon they are going to be offering classes in college on how to use FB…
Atlanta87
September 21st, 2011
11:36 am
Who the F cares? Get a life!
godoggo
September 21st, 2011
11:41 am
I never have joined this “cult”….much to the chagrin of many friends….or comrades (ooops, was that a Freudian slip?)….Anyhoo, can you imagine the amount of hours we’d have left in our day to spend actual time with our friends ? with our kids ? doing something constructive ?….instead of disappearing into a room for hours on end looking at what other people are doing. Hey, here’s a idea…..volunteer, or help out in a foodbank ?
I understand we all need our egos massaged at times, but there should be limits on time that you can spend time “mind melding” with others……And trust me, if you don’t believe there will not be an offshoot in the future of a “facebook for kids” your delusional…..Again “the most secure site ever”, then we’ll hear about predator attacks….of course, the “small print” in the facebook page will “release them FROM ANY AND ALL association or liability. Just wait.
Facebook luuuuuuuuuuures you in, gets you addicted, then changes the drug, and small print (DETAILS). Some of the smartest humans i know (Rocket Scientist), were gungho in the beginning of facebook, and now are looking for ways to bail….but many have their businesses TIED to it.
Facebook will end up with Alpha ++ personalities, and Narcissism running amuck.
-
Kevvvin
September 21st, 2011
11:46 am
Google + it is the way to go. You dont get all the Farmville crap
godoggo
September 21st, 2011
11:47 am
BEST Comment i have read in a LONG time Uncle Joe (below)
Uncle Joe / September 21st, 2011 / 11:34 am
“Since when do we need some company to manage our social life over a computer ?”
Excellent Joe ~
MrMan
September 21st, 2011
11:50 am
Just wondering why so many comments pointing to the edits needed and still no change…
Silks
September 21st, 2011
11:53 am
I do NOT want to know what others are doing on FACEBOOK while I am there NOR do I care for anyone to know my every move. May be time to slowly eliminate FaceBook from my ‘Things to do’ List. Too much TOO Quick……………..
beebee
September 21st, 2011
11:56 am
I just went and checked this new thing. All one has to do is CLICK if OFF the page.
You Americans are the whiniest, LAZIEST and most SPOILED people in the WORLD.
beebee
September 21st, 2011
11:56 am
click “it” off the page.
Chris
September 21st, 2011
12:05 pm
Facebook’s thrashing like a landed fish. Its inevitable irrelevance seems to get closer every day. Their traffic numbers have been declining for months and every “feature” they’ve released in that time has been half-baked, irritating, pointless, or all of the above.
It’s no surprise that everyone’s switching to Google Plus.
chris
September 21st, 2011
12:07 pm
War in the Middle East, poverty in Africa, recession at home. Who cares?
They changed Facebook. I am OUTRAGED!!
SMH
No Thanks
September 21st, 2011
12:09 pm
To me, Facebook is like 7-Up and caffeine – never had it, never will. A phone and email is all I need to keep in touch with my “friends” – and it can all be done without big brother tracking everything I do and every letter I type, and best of all NO ADS!
George Mathis
September 21st, 2011
12:13 pm
Rest easy, dear readers, I’ve inserted a verb into the offending sentence! Thanks to all!!!
ugh!!
September 21st, 2011
12:19 pm
FB sucks. I got off of it was sick of hearing people talking about the gym, food and parties as if they were VIP’s somewhere. OMG!!! The site was getting too juvenile.
Tracy Stephens
September 21st, 2011
12:29 pm
Our goverment already tells what we want. and someday we will be rid of them just like we all might be rid of F.B. soon. Get a grip people or we will make yall go broke. maybe someone is in the works of making a better site. let me know when it gets here
Tracy Stephens
September 21st, 2011
12:31 pm
bite me
Jennifer
September 21st, 2011
12:31 pm
George,
You still have a problem with subject-verb agreement in the eighth paragraph. Either the word are should be changed to is, or the beginning part of the sentence should read, “Facebook says the new News Feed acts like newspapers…”
Jennifer
m
September 21st, 2011
12:31 pm
First World Problems.
Nedac
September 21st, 2011
12:46 pm
Why make this more complicated. I just learn one thing and then you change it. Give me the power to change what I want to change. Why should you make such stupid changes that affect millions of users. I don’t like your changes. Why don’t you sell Facebook to someone who relates to it’s users.
Chrissy
September 21st, 2011
12:47 pm
I hate that they keep changing every thing. They want to “keep up” but honestly they are just pushing me to Google+ where I can just learn a whole new system without worrying about it CONSTANTLY being changed. Obama and facebook are prime examples of “change” not always being the best thing.
Chrissy
September 21st, 2011
12:49 pm
And you may be able to click it off the pa when you are using a computer for fb but there are many who simply use facebook mobile or a fb app which doesn’t make this as easy.
Mike
September 21st, 2011
12:52 pm
@CE, if you have a person like that on your feed, that is your problem. Fix it or don’t fix it, we could care less. The point many are making is that Facebook should not be the one to decided what is important to you.
Will Stockdale
September 21st, 2011
1:02 pm
Hey Ben, maybe you’ll get to like the Air Force. Zooming all over the sky and shouting ROGER and WILCO and everything. Maybe it won’t be so bad.
Wait, Facebook is MySpace? — Janet Fouts - Social Media Coach
September 21st, 2011
1:06 pm
[...] developer knows the first rule of web design is to listen to what the client wants, collect their feedback and do a needs assessment. That’s even more true in a social network whose users are often [...]
DJ Rattlehead
September 21st, 2011
1:09 pm
“Facebook, you’re not near as smart as you think you are. Your algorithms for deciding what I want to see, who I want to talk to or what I think is important are 99.999% of the time the exact polar opposite of what I want. Everything you do to try to simplify things only complicates things more. Every attempt you make to improve things inevitably ends up in a HUGE step backwards. Take for example the new way Facebook displays pictures when clicked on that now appear initially as a compressed blurry mess reminiscent of the internet circa 1990. Something as simple as a Friend Request is now just a headache of options. The chat, instead of just showing everybody that’s online now is broken up into segments that YOU THINK I want to talk to, more often than not displaying many that I rarely want to chat with and many that aren’t even online. Do I have the option to just display everyone that IS online? Nope, because as history has taught us Facebook isn’t about viewing or doing things that I want, it’s about Facebook coming up with some ludicrous idea of how things “should” be and than ramming it down it’s users throats. I echo the sentiments of others that have cited that it is this kind of mentality that killed MySpace, a reminder that Facebook should never consider themselves “too big to fail.” You’re not…”
Changes To Facebook’s News Feeds | Social Media Coaching Center
September 21st, 2011
1:21 pm
[...] developer knows the first rule of web design is to listen to what the client wants, collect their feedback and do a needs assessment. That’s even more true in a social network whose users are often [...]
gtalum06
September 21st, 2011
1:29 pm
The last FB changes were finally growing on me, and they had to go switch it up. It’s awful… besides, their reason for the new news feed is stupid, especially considering you already had the option of either having the most popular/interesting posts OR the most recent. I always chose recent, b/c FB’s idea of what is most popular/interesting to me is pretty off the mark.
I am thinking FB is about to go down just like Myspace did… at least for me.
thegrtsmom
September 21st, 2011
1:31 pm
The new FB is a load of crap! I really wish I could use all the curse words that I desire to use to describe it but unfortunately I would be cited by the AJC for doing such madness however, I’m sure that everyone who actually feels the same way about this change understands how I feel. Dumb FB!!!
Monroe
September 21st, 2011
1:39 pm
Sounds like a lot of people really have their things in a wad over this. I’m so glad I don’t use Facebook.
Mandi
September 21st, 2011
1:51 pm
I usually give the FB changes a chance. Who knows, I might like it. Well, I have been playing with these changes all morning and I have to say I hate them. They simply suck and do not do as they promise. First, they post my game feed request as “Top Stories”. I don’t find any IMPORTANT topics from family or friends as as “Top Stories”. I actually have to go to a specific person if I want an update!! What is the point of posting everyone’s “real time movements”? I don’t feel that ANYTHING I post should be broadcast over the ticker!! There are some topics I do discuss with friends that family don’t want to or need to see, the old way was better for hiding that stuff. (Not that it was anything wrong, just stuff family didn’t want to see) But I don’t feel I have to keep in all in private message either!!! I don’t know who these people are who like the new changes, but hey, seems only 1300 ppl like it compared to the millions who use fb. Seems to me, I will be looking for a new social connection and bring my family and friends with me as well.
Shannana
September 21st, 2011
2:14 pm
My solution….stay away from FB. I have an account but unless someone sends me a ‘message’ that I am alerted to via email, I don’t even log it. A supreme waste of time!
Mila
September 21st, 2011
2:37 pm
What’s up with the creepy~stalker~ticker thing? Is that so I can facebook, while I facebook?
Bob Decker
September 21st, 2011
2:37 pm
Whats Facebook?
Atlanta87
September 21st, 2011
2:57 pm
The fact that we have 8 pages complaining about facebook changes is why our country is in the $hitter. FML!
MissyPoo
September 21st, 2011
3:22 pm
Next Facebook will be assigning our friends.
connie
September 21st, 2011
3:41 pm
Facebook has changed me to death. I just tune in now to read about familyh and friends.. Now they have lost me all together for good. Disgruntled member
Winnie
September 21st, 2011
3:46 pm
Why try to fix something thats not broken !!!! I think its time we all log off facebook and find something else to log into !!!
New Facebook stink,1,300 people hit the like button thats
Just coz Facebook dont have a dislike button-WE Dont Count !!!!!
Atlanta87
September 21st, 2011
3:48 pm
STOP WHINING PEOPLE!
cc
September 21st, 2011
4:27 pm
this new format is AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sue bull
September 21st, 2011
4:40 pm
1300 likes? 1 in every 14 people on the planet have a fb a/c. that ain’t a ringing endorsement in my book
Michael
September 21st, 2011
5:34 pm
Enter your comments here
DMTK
September 21st, 2011
5:58 pm
I second that Jo. The articles have been riddled with grammatical errors lately!
DHD
September 21st, 2011
6:08 pm
I think it is run by the government. CHANGE we can believe in and it SUX, just like Obama.
Nikki
September 21st, 2011
6:10 pm
Who cares…
Who Cares?
September 21st, 2011
6:18 pm
This new facebook update is the best marketing campaign for Google+ that could have ever been constructed. I’m sure Google thanks them for it!
Who Cares?
September 21st, 2011
6:20 pm
It’s like so many other things that are successful. Incompetent management gets promoted to decision making positions and decides that “change” is in order, so they make changes to a system that has a proven track record of success. In th…e end, they lose business as their focus is not on what made them successful, but rather keeping up with “changing things”. It’s like my father has always said, “Forget your past, and you’ll re-live it!” It’s an idiotic cycle that has gained control of many of today’s companies and organizations. Pathetic!
Jake
September 21st, 2011
6:41 pm
I’m so glad I don’t get upset over things that don’t belong to me. I cleary understand and accept the fact that I really don’t own any part of my FB account.
Andre
September 21st, 2011
7:14 pm
Some of y’all forgot who owns the website. It’s their website, they do no whatever the heck they wanna do with it.
Unik
September 21st, 2011
10:11 pm
I don’t like all these changes and I agree with the poster. I am the only one responsible for the topics I desire to read. FB cannot be compared to the Newspaper. If I was not in social groups on FB I would no longer have interest
Judy
September 21st, 2011
10:35 pm
I’m not getting the whole dislike for the new facebook. I see it quite opposite from everyone I guess. I love the “list” feature. That actually allows me to select who I want to see posts from… it gives me more control. I’m seeing updates from friends who I haven’t connected with in months. I’ve had to go search for them. So the way I see it, the new facebook is very similar to Google+ circles.
courtney ordway
September 25th, 2011
4:59 pm
I dont like all of the changes facebook is making and now they are going to be charging us for member ships when we have to buy stuff for games and let me tell you this it SUCKS