Newspaper-Inspired Facebook Layout Will Deliver More Interesting Stories & A Real-Time Ticker

In a move that shouldn’t surprise anyone, Facebook is re-organizing users’ homepages. The new look homepage will allow users to “see the things they’re most interested in.” The main elements that will power the new layout are, the revamped Friend Lists, the new Subscribe button, and a real-time ticker. One notable change is that the […]

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In a move that shouldn’t surprise anyone, Facebook is re-organizing users’ homepages. The new look homepage will allow users to “see the things they’re most interested in.” The main elements that will power the new layout are, the revamped Friend Lists, the new Subscribe button, and a real-time ticker.

One notable change is that the verbiage “post” seems to be completely removed from the Facebook vocabulary. All mentions of content-formerly-known-as-posts are now labeled as “stories.”

A “Personal Newspaper”

The rationale behind the new layout ironically takes after newspapers, the very form of media that Facebook is slowly replacing. The release states that:

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.

In order to achieve this, some posts will be labeled as a “Top Story” with a blue mark the left hand corner:

Facebook Top Story

Images will also be much larger and easier to view from the homepage. For those avid Facebook users, new stories will show above the “Top Stories” section:

Top Stories Avid Users

Real-Time Ticker

In order to combat the News Feed time-lag, Facebook is launching a real-time ticker. This will update posts, photo uploads, comments and friend activity in the right side of the screen above the controversial chat bar. This new element will help users see what is happening in real-time, without losing their place.

Real Time Ticker Facebook

For a full view of what is coming for the new Facebook layout, watch the following video:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6JrZdF4IPA[/youtube]


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Greg Finn
Contributor
Greg Finn is the Director of Marketing for Cypress North, a company that provides digital marketing and web development. He is a co-host of Marketing O'Clock and has been in the digital marketing industry for nearly 20 years. You can also find Greg on Twitter (@gregfinn) or LinkedIn.

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