Facebook testing new features

Facebook has started testing 5 new features, after facing criticism for its EdgeRank algorithm and constantly altered post reach, according to SocialBakers.

The social networking site seems to be addressing these problems with new features that are currently being tested. It reportedly wants to make page posts more visible to Facebook users thanks to an opt-in option and a new Pages feed dedicated to brand updates.

1. Fans can opt-in to see all your page posts

Lately, Facebook users and brands have been complaining about the EdgeRank algorithm limiting the post reach, sometimes even the overall visibility of the page in the newsfeeds. Users are worried that they will miss interesting promotions and offers while marketers are concerned about not reaching their audience.

Now it seems that users will have everything in their hands as they will be able opt-in to see all the page posts from brands they care about in their desktop and mobile newsfeeds. Some users already have the chance to do so by mousing over the page´s Liked button and selecting the “get notifications” option. In the future, people should be able to receive notifications from specific pages, friends or public figures that they are connected to and wish to be connected to even more. Although, some people are worried that brands will post too often and they will receive notifications every minute. In this case they would rather prefer an opt-out option.
 

2. All your updates in the new ‘Pages Feed’

Facebook is testing another feature to help users see more posts from pages they´re interested in without overwhelming the network. Some Facebook users have reported that they are seeing all the updates from pages they Like in a single “Pages feed”. Their News feeds continue to show top posts and sponsored content but the new feed is supposed to serve as an unfiltered stream of page activity.

3. Threaded discussions under comments on pages

Facebook is also testing threaded discussions under comments on Pages which provides users with the option to reply to individual comments instead of the original post. According to the last reports, users should be notified if someone responds to their comments, but it’s only being tested on Pages, not personal profiles at this time. This is expected to make conversations with fans and customers more organized and effective.

4. New timeline layout

According to Inside Facebook, the social network is testing a new, sleeker timeline design for selected users mainly because people have been complaining about the frustrating two-column layout forcing them to scroll up and down to read their stream. Now the timeline should look less like a timeline with a wider post stream on the left and a narrow column on the right for activity modules (like recent activity, friends, places and Open Graph apps). And once there are no more modules to show, the timeline should appear blank rather than filling in with status updates and wall posts.