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What is social networking if not a giant fulcrum of communication? Even when we claim to be posting photos just to chronicle your trips, we all light up with joy when we see those virtual thumbs pointing upwards.
Posts and pokes, likes and dislikes, comments and replies, instant messaging, group messaging, forums, communities – all these mediums have one big thing in common: sharing information.
Facebook has announced new changes to the way it maintains your news feed. If you’re a regular folk with a moderate social activity online, the changes are for the best. If you’re a business that heavily relies on referral traffic, buckle up.
The announcement says the changes are meant to better display the content that matters to you. The changes were necessary because people keep posting more and more stuff, and as this content expands, its reach gobbles up under its own heft.
As of this year, Facebook decided to maximize the potential of its (our?) content by prioritizing video to make up almost a third of the News Feed. For the first time ever, Facebook videos now exceed the number of YouTube clips shared through the social network. Not the type to rest on their laurels, the Menlo-Park company made another push in the video department this week and released a brand new app called Riff.
Originally developed as a side project by Facebook Creative Labs – the same inventive group who made Slingshot, Paper and Facebook Groups – Riff is here to play catch with Vine, Snapchat, and Hyperlapse. However, unlike other Facebook endeavors, Riff stands to gain some momentum.