Why Facebook’s new newsfeed matters to you
Facebook has had its ups and downs since it went public last year, and today it announced another tweak to the design of its main page. CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new and, according to him, improved, newsfeed that will display photos better and offer users a better way to interact with news and information about their “friends.”
He likened it to a “personalized newspaper.” The news feed will be broken down into sections so you can have a file for your friends, your close friends, you music, and so on.
“We believe that the best personalized newspaper should have a broad diversity of content — high-quality content from world renowned sources and socially and locally relevant updates from family, friends and those around you,” Zuckerberg said. “It should also enable you to be able to drill into an topic that you want to discuss.”
It is designed to make us happier and, not coincidentally, to make Facebook more money. As usual, Facebook did not address the money question directly. Recent data suggest that Facebookers are using the site less — and with all the tweaking going on, some analysts have expressed concern that Facebook is worried about losing customers.
Then again, if Facebook wasn’t making changes, analysts would probably be second-guessing the company as well.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
