Yet again Facebook is tinkering with its core News feeds, but this time the changes aren’t only cosmetic.
Facebook is driven by developers and advertisers, and although the social network has an unprecedented size, the two stakeholders argue that the current system isn’t as effective as it could be.
Cue the music.
Taking their feedback on board, Facebook is now testing a more intrusive news feed, with the new version ‘feeding’ the comments and likes of your friends into yours. Its hoping you’ll be interested in your friends’ shopping habits, with their fingers crossed you might do some splurging yourself.
Facebook is even considering broadening its ‘like’ button philosophy. The WSJ claims it might introduce ‘Want’ or ‘Need’ buttons, providing Facebook with more information leverage, helping them pitch you demographic based advertisements.
The WSJ predicts the Facebook facelift will be announced at the 2011 F8 developer’s conference, but a date has yet to be set.
With 750 million world-wide members, it looks like Facebook wants to make a few more bucks through the advertising channel. After all, 98 per cent of Google’s revenue comes from advertising, and Facebook knows its subscribers intimately-at least on paper.
In its infancy, Zuckerberg was reluctant to sell his baby project to advertising giants. But now in maturity, there’s enough investors wanting to see more returns.
With rival social network Google+ gaining 25 million members in a month, it is thriving. But although Google is rich in advertising, and the company could still benefit from the personal information gleaned, its Google+ service isn’t as aggressive. There’s a texture to it that feels as though you exercise more control over your own information, most likely due to its circles friending system.
Google+’s prompt rise to success is copying the mantras once ushered by Facebook, and it looks like it’s paying off. Shame Facebook are busy focussing elsewhere.
