While Google busied itself distracting the world on April 21 with “Mobilegeddon“, its mobile-friendly update, Facebook quietly released an update all its own. Did you notice?

Facebook insists that the News Feed exists for one purpose only – to give you the content that matters to you. This latest News Feed update is specifically designed to improve the Facebook users’ experience, aiming at a better balance of content from friends versus content from businesses, publishers, public figures, and local organizations.

The update comes in three layers.

#1: More Content for Content-starved Users

The rule that hitherto prevented you from seeing multiple posts from the same source has now been scrapped. When you run out of recent content and scroll through the News Feed, you’ll now see multiple posts from the same sources.

#2: Updates from Friends Given a Thumbs Up

Going forward, content from friends will be placed higher in the News Feed. The Menlo Park social media giant had been getting a lot of negative feedback from users who were missing out on important updates from close friends — photos, videos, status changes, links.

#3: Friends’ Likes & Comments on Posts is a No-show

Likes and comments made by your friends on a Post have been relegated to the bottom of the News Feed so you can focus on what your friends are really saying.

 

Advertisers Be Warned!

Advertisers will have to make adjustments. Higher grade content posted with consistency will get noticed. Anything else is likely to sink from sight.