Facebook enhances news feature for users

With its upcoming rival Google+ stepping up to beta and dropping the requirement for invitations, social networking giant Facebook enhanced its "News Feed" section by adopting a "newspaper" approach to make it more interesting for members. Facebook engineering manager Mark Tonkelowitz said this is the latest upgrade following improvements to Friend Lists and a new Subscribe button "to help users see more of what (they) care about, and less of what (they) don’t." "Now, News Feed will act more like your own personal newspaper. You won’t have to worry about missing important stuff. All your news will be in a single stream with the most interesting stories featured at the top. If you haven’t visited Facebook for a while, the first things you’ll see are top photos and statuses posted while you’ve been away. They’re marked with an easy-to-spot blue corner," he said in a blog post. Tonkelowitz said those who check Facebook more frequently will see the most recent stories first. Photos will also be bigger and easier to enjoy while you’re scrolling through. Another upgrade is "Ticker," which allows users to see and chat with friends about photos, articles, and other things they’re posting in real-time. "Ticker shows you the same stuff you were already seeing on Facebook, but it brings your conversations to life by displaying updates instantaneously. Now when a friend comments, asks a question or shares something like a check in, you’ll be able to join the conversation right away. Click on anything in ticker to see the full story and chime in – without losing your place," he said. Facebook users with wider screens can slide the gray bar between ticker and chat up or down to adjust how many updates they see at a time. To control who can see your updates anywhere on Facebook, including in ticker and News Feed, one can adjust his or her sharing control or apps settings. "We hope these improvements make your conversations on Facebook more lively, no matter how often you visit," Tonkelowitz said. — RSJ, GMA News