Facebook’s Planned News Feed Changes Should Worry You

Facebook is tinkering with our news feeds in order to give marketers and developers many visibility. According to the Wall Street Journal, the changes may allow the gregarious networking land site to gather even more information on its users.

Some advertisers and developers are indispensable the the overall success of Facebook, just they debate the current organisation isn't working. Yes, we see what our friends are 'liking,' just wouldn't we be more engaged or prompted to consumption these applications or interact with these advertisers if our friends are also using them?

Facebook has confirmed that it conducting tests of an even Thomas More intrusive news provender on a limited basis. I can confirm this personally: I've seen my friend's comments to pages and so much placed in my feed like any other status. A bit odd, yes: but I guess they think it will take in Maine more believable to check those pages out (it doesn't).

The company may likewise Be prepared to expand its "Like" clit to other concepts, the WSJ claims, such as a "Want" or "Need" release, etcetera. Obviously, this could provide Facebook with some efficacious information on you–after all, IT's already victimisation your likes atomic number 3 advertising fodder.

Enjoin you click the new "Want" push on the New car of your dreams. It's non learning ability operating theater to expect that Facebook would neediness to answer you car ads. Sure sounds like Beacon redux, don't information technology? Except this time, you birth a bit bit more control over what the place is sharing with your friends!

It's not immediately clear every bit to when Facebook plans to implement these changes on a big basis. The WSJ and others have advisable these newsworthiness eat changes will be announced at the party's period of time F8 developer conference. While 2010's event was held in April, a date for this year has not been set.

Truthfully, I am non too happy with the way this is going. Facebook seems to constitute taking the same path Google did up until Google+. Both companies seem to personify making changes to their sites in efforts to collect massive amounts of data on their users, and are giving the users very little choice in the matter.

I believe a Key reason why Google+ has seen success so quickly is feeling it gives the user that the information you plowshare is indeed yours, and you choose how it is ill-used. Patc this could change, for now it's a breath of fresh air. Don't you cerebrate that Facebook could learn a few things from what Google is doing?

For more tech news and commentary, follow Ed connected Chirrup at @edoswald and on Facebook.