by Ben Francia |Last Updated: March 18, 2013 
De-Cluttered Design of the new Facebook Newsfeeds
More Convenient and Content-Driven – that’s what the new Facebook news feed offers.
At first glance at the new news feed it’s the bigger images that you would initially notice. Also, there is the more organized optional feeds on the right, giving you a lot of choices in filtering which specific updates you would want to see. Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, likened the news feed to “the most personalized newspaper.” And I couldn’t agree more. The news feed give a better idea and feel of what your friends or the people you follow are doing and up to.
Zuckerberg said in a press event, “How we’re all sharing is changing and the news feed needs to evolve with those changes. This is the evolving face of news feed.”
The new news feed has three major components:
- Bigger Images
- Multiple Feeds
- Mobile Consistency
When it comes to images, the new news feed really took it up a notch. And one of the best things about it is that the feed is consistent across devices, giving in to our mobile-device-driven lives. Also, “Facebook says it is following trends on where design is headed and it is clear that trend includes big photos and a clean, navigable design.”
Meanwhile, when it comes to the actual “feeds”, users have better options on the type of feeds and have more control on how the feeds are displayed. You can now subscribe to different types of feeds like, feeds all friends, close friends, music, photos, games and those who you “follow.” There’s also a chronological view available.
But with all these amazing features, how will the news feed affect publishers’ activities?
The new news feed is advantageous for publishers who publish highly visual content. It’s also great since it has less clutter and less interruptions; but most of all, you can say goodbye to Facebook spammers.
Here’s some ways publishers can make sure they take full advantage of the new news feed:
1. Go for high-quality, high-resolution images – With the current changes, photos make up nearly half of all News Feed stories. In fact, it is up from 30% compared to a year ago according to Facebook. “Facebook recommends publishers use images with a width of at least 552 pixels.”
2. Improve the cover photo – This time, when friends Like or interact with a Facebook page, that Page may be highlighted in the News Feed displaying the cover photo. According to Facebook, “Having an engaging cover photo that tells your or your Page’s story is even more important to improve your discovery through connection stories.”
3. Post trending topics – Trending topics will be highlighted in thumbnail-rich carousels in the News Feed. This is great to get more attention on topics you may want to raise.
4. Share different types of media – Since users get better and bigger images in their news feed, publishers may want to share more photos to really grab the attention of their followers. Moreover, other forms of media will soon be very active in the news feed.
These are just some of the tips publishers can take into consideration when it comes to taking advantage of the new Facebook news feed.
The New Facebook Newsfeeds is still on Beta but you can get on the waiting list by going to this page http://www.facebook.com/about/newsfeed
Check out also their “Behind the Redesign” video here:
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