Facebook changing feeds to boost people, not news
Company’s stock tumbles, costing Zuckerberg $3.3 billion
Facebook is changing what its users will see to highlight posts they are most likely to engage with and make time spent on social media more “meaningful.”
By cutting back on items that Facebook users tend to passively consume, the change could hurt news organizations and other businesses that rely on Facebook to share their content.
The idea is to help users to connect with people they care about, not make them feel depressed and isolated.
“The research shows that when we use social media to connect with people we care about, it can be good for our well-being,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post Thursday.
“We can feel more connected and less lonely, and that correlates with long term measures of happiness and health. On the other hand, passively reading articles or watching videos -- even if they’re entertaining or informative — may not be as good.”
Wall Street did not like the idea and Facebook shares plunged. The changes may mean people spend less time on Facebook.
Under the revised regime, there will be fewer posts from brands, pages and media companies and more from people. There will be fewer videos, which Facebook considers “passive.”
But Facebook gave scant details about how it would define what’s “meaningful.”
The changes could shrink the social media giant’s role as a major news source for many people.
“It’s in the same direction that Facebook has been pursuing for a while: offering a place for discussion among individuals, a community space, rather than being a news source,” said Oh Se-uk, a senior researcher on digital news at the Korea Press Foundation.
The move will not affect advertisements — users will continue to see the same ads they have before, “meaningful” or not. But businesses that use Facebook to connect with their customers without paying for ads will also feel the pain.
The pain also extended to Zuckerberg who saw his fortune fall $3.3 billion Friday.
Shares of Facebook tumbled 4.5 percent on Friday in New York, cutting Zuckerberg’s fortune to $74 billion on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.