The New Facebook: A network within a network
On Wednesday, Facebook tweaked the homepages of its 750 million users, with what Facebook labels as “top stories”, “recent stories” and a live “ticker”, a live feed on all the ongoing activity that also appears in newsfeed (A Facebook inside a Facebook, the article calls it). This change is to “tailor” what users want to see, in hopes that they will spend more time on their website. With the growing popularity of social networking sites, these sites are forced to take measures that will keep users from leaving their network, sharing more information about themselves, and spending more time on their site. And as these sites continue to compete, the definition of social networking is constantly evolving — beginning from what was once just connecting and sharing with friends to connecting with everything they are interested in as a consumer and a target of advertising measures.
For Facebook, it’s changes like the news feed that they believe will allow users to “share and see the right kinds of things.” However, as the largest social-networking site, it’s changes will not be able to please everyone, so it’s about playing the best strategy that will keep users engaged while encouraging them to expand each of their individual networks. Today, we are bombarded with information, news, and businesses trying to make us “like” them and have us be their fan. Our society is becoming one giant network, in which are simply being forced to make the edges and connect the nodes. Facebook is growing a network from inside out, as they see the potential power in networks, crowds, and markets.
From article on Fox news: Facebook Users Outranged Over New Changes
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/09/22/facebook-users-outraged-over-new-changes/