Facebook users got a surprise a few days ago! New changes were announced September 22nd. The social networking site that everybody love so much is trying to make everybody love it even more.

On average, a Facebook user spend 15 minutes every day using Facebook, creating three new pieces of content every day on the site. But that’s not enough for the Zuckerberg clan. They want even more of your time. The changes which Facebook impletnted were announced at Facebook developer conference in Steve Jobs Apple style! Yes, it is all about trying to get us to spend even more time on Facebook. Some hinted that changes were made to stay ahead of the thread of Google+.

So… firstly, they introduced the Google+ “killer”; it didn’t take them long. The apparent beauty of Google’s offering is “circles” where you can share information only with specific groups of people, rather than with all of your friends at once. Now, Facebook has “Smart Lists” which does exactly the same. Result? You can now do in Facebook what Google +1 used to their initial competitive advantage. Bye bye Google+ some are saying….let’s wait for Google+ move….

The news feed has changed.
Essentially the “top news” and the “most recent” lists are being combined, allowing you to control which items appear more easily (but I still have to get used to it…). The idea is that you will always see stuff that’s important to you, rather than having to scroll around for it or switch between views.

Tell Your Story with Timeline.
Since the beginning of Facebook, your profile has been the place where you tell your story. People use it to share everything from the small stuff, like their thoughts on an article, to the most important events of their lives, like the photos of their wedding or the birth of their child.

Friends News Ticker.
On the top right of your Facebook page, you’ll also soon see a “ticker” – scrolling, instant updates as to what your friends are doing right now, real time.

The evolution of your profile.
Back in the early days of Facebook, your profile was pretty basic – just your name, a photo, where you went to school…stuff you’d cover in the first five minutes you met someone.

Over time, your profile evolved to better reflect how you actually communicate with your friends. Now you can can share photos of what you did last weekend, and updates about how you feel today.

But since the focus is on the most recent things you posted, more important stuff slips off the page. The photos of your graduation get replaced by updates about what you had for breakfast.

Say you’re catching up with an old friend – would you rather find out that they had eggs this morning, or hear about their new dream job?

The way your profile works today, 99% of the stories you share vanish. The only way to find the posts that matter is to click “Older Posts” at the bottom of the page. Again. And again.

New “subscribe” button
Then, there is the new “subscribe” button, which works together with the new style news feed allowing you decide which kinds of news items from each individual you want to receive.

…and music is coming…..
as above is not enough, Facebook is soon to include music – you’ll be able to listen to what your friends are listening to “right now” and you’ll be able to link to services such as Spotify through Facebook.

…and – yes there’s more…
- you’ll soon be able to connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts (some of used other means to do it already)
– including the navigation bar staying in place and not scrolling off the screen when you move down a page.

So we will have a challange to ensure benefit of all these changes for our customers. Is YOUR business ready for those changes?

With greater control on what appears on the home page of a user and with attention being grabbed by a ticker and music, businesses on Facebook are going to have to fight even harder for those eyeballs.

It certainly started with the extended applications for business pages – but it nows clearly shows the direction that Facebook is taking us in; greater interaction with individuals for business owners. If your business is not prepared for that, then you will not survive in the new Facebook – coming your way NOW!

Fred Lotgering
LotCon Biz Solutions

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Filed under: Facebook for YOUR Business • Facebook Headlines • Facebook Marketing

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