Facebook revamps News Feed

Facebook has announced changes to the way posts are ordered on your News Feed, with those deemed 'most important' now appearing at the top of the page.

Depending on how often you visit the social network, you'll either see the most recent stories or the top stories, when you visit the Facebook homepage.

If you visit serveral times a day you'll see new stuff at the top of the page, but if you only visit once a week you'll see the top news from your closest friends and family.

Your own personal newspaper

In a post on the company blog Facebook Engineering Manager Mark Tonkelowich said: "When you pick up a newspaper after not reading it for a week, the front page quickly clues you into the most interesting stories.

"In the past, News Feed hasn't worked like that. Updates slide down in chronological order so it's tough to zero in on what matters most.

"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."

Larger thumbnails

Another change to the News Feed is the introduction of larger photo thumbnails, as you can see from the screenshot to your right.

That particular change certainly makes it easier to enjoy photos without clicking the image and waiting for the strange new photo album interface to render properly.

More changes afoot

The blog also explained the previously-announced Ticker which brings real-time updates on the right hand side of the page.

We're expecting plenty more changes on Facebook this week as the f8 conference kicks-off on Thursday.

As we reported yesterday, there's plenty of speculation about tie-ins with movie, music and tv services and we'll have the latest from f8 as it happens.

Link: Facebook Blog