Facebook news feed revamp faces backlash
Facebook's retooled news feed is eliciting a wave of criticism from some users. The new version is an effort by the social network to further emulate Twitter's real-time messages and updates.
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Facebook users were searching for a "dislike" button to express their annoyance with the social network's revamped news feed.
Facebook today rolled out a new version of its news feed, which breaks up top stores and recent posts into separate columns and adds a new ticker-like column with live updates from friends. It's an effort by the social network to further emulate Twitter's real-time messages and updates.
But the changes have drawn a wave of complaints as people took to social networks--including Facebook--to express their annoyance, with many complaining about the clutter and confusion of all the extra feeds. Others were annoyed by the sudden change. The hashtag #NewFacebook is among the top trending topics on Twitter, and the responses have been fairly negative.
"If i want to chat, I will open my chat... if I want Twitter i will go on Twitter... if I wanna check in, I'll go to Foursquare... BUT I don't need ALL in one!!! urghhhhh how can I go back to the old Facebook?!" food blogger Cindy Zhou complained today on Facebook.
It's the latest change from Facebook, which has been increasingly looking to other social networks for influence. It recently unveiled Lists, similar to the Circles feature on Google+, which allows you to organize friends into groups.
Similar to Twitter, Facebook last week also unveiled the Subscribe Button, which allows users to follow other people even if they aren't friends.
Despite the complaints, the social network continues to grow, having swelled past 750 million users in June. The company's global revenue is expected to hit $4.27 billion this year, more than double its revenue from a year ago, according to market research company eMarketer.
Complaining about new Facebook tweaks has become somewhat of a common practice in recent years, as users settle in to the norm only to be shaken up by a new feature.
Still, some users supported it, saying the new live updates makes better use of the screen real estate. Others were just tired of the comments.
"To be honest, my biggest problem with #newfacebook is having to see all of my friends complain about it in their status updates. #justsayin," Natasha Hickman posted on Twitter.