Facebook faces backlash for news feed new look

Hate the new-look Facebook News Feed? Or worried about its real-time news ticker violating your privacy? Chances are, you're not alone. Tech sites on Thursday (Manila time) reported many Facebook users voiced annoyance with the giant social network’s revamped news feed. Mashable also gave what could very well be a warning: “Prepare yourselves." The tech site said “these changes are just the beginning," adding that on Friday, “Facebook will be reborn" after the social network makes a scheduled announcement in a conference in San Francisco, California. “(T)he 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," tech site CNET reported. But CNET also said some users supported the changes, saying the new live updates makes better use of the screen space. Others were more tired about the complaints about the new features. On Wednesday, Facebook – which has a membership of at least 750 million – rolled out a new version of its news feed, to feature “Top Stories" and recent posts, adding a Twitter-like “news ticker." Privacy concerns A separate article on PC World said the real-time news ticker in the upper-right corner of the page has raised concerns among some of its readers “that this will adversely affect their privacy." PC World added that people started voicing annoyance with the new Facebook News Feed mere hours after it went live. Many Facebook users here in the Philippines changed their language settings just to return to the old Facebook layout. Cues from other social networks CNET and Mashable noted Facebook has lately been looking to other social networks for influence. Tech writers have noted that Facebook’s new “Lists" are similar to rival Google+’s “Circles" which allows users to organize friends into groups. Another feature Facebook “borrowed" – this time from micro-blogging site Twitter – is the Subscribe Button which allows users to follow other people even if those people aren’t their friends. —MRT, GMA News