New Facebook News Feed Update is Good for Users, But Could Affect Traffic of Publishers

By Carlo Monzon 30 Jun, 2016 11:57 EDT

Facebook has once again released an update to improve the interface of its News Feed feature. Although the update is geared towards improving how users see posts of their contacts, it could decrease the traffic for publishers and page owners.

Lars Backstrom, the engineering director of Facebook, explained through the social media platforms Newsroom that the new update is all about connecting people. Since this is what Facebook is mainly about, the algorithm of the News Feed feature has been tweaked in order to prioritize the posts, photos, stories and other content uploaded by close contacts.

In other words, through the new update, the News Feed of users will no longer be filled by articles, videos and other posts made by publishers. Instead, posts from personal contacts will be ranked higher through the algorithm.

"Facebook was built on the idea of connecting people with their friends and family," Backstrom stated. "As we say in our News Feed values, that is still the driving principle of News Feed today. Our top priority is keeping you connected to the people, places and things you want to be connected to - starting with the people you are friends with on Facebook."

"We previously made an update that tries to ensure that stories posted directly by the friends you care about, such as photos, videos, status updates or links, will be higher up in News Feed so you are less likely to miss them," he continued.

The News Feed, however, will still display content made by publishers but these will probably be buried below the updates from personal contacts. This could then lead to a decrease in traffic for publishers since the chances of users seeing their content will be reduced.

In order to get around this, Facebook suggests posting content that are interesting and relevant for users in order to capitalize on the likes and share functions.

"Overall, we anticipate that this update may cause reach and referral traffic to decline for some Pages," Backstrom noted. "The specific impact on your page's distribution and other metrics may vary depending on the composition of your audience."

Survey: Hong Kong teens generally identify with traditional Chinese cultural values

In order an effort to promote traditional Chinese culture, the Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong, in collaboration with Macao YMCA, Guangzhou Suigang'ao Teenagers Institute, and the Teacher Chang Foundation of Taiwan, has conducted a survey on teens measuring their cultural awareness. They found that Hong Kong youths generally identify with and support the values of traditional Chinese culture.
Global Lutherans celebrate Reformation Day, ‘trusting in the power of grace in a merciless time’.
Yesterday, October 31, was Reformation Day, and Lutherans around the world held various events in commemoration. In Singapore, the Lutheran Church advocated for Christian communion, while the German Lutheran Church encouraged believers to face the challenge of “trusting in the power of grace in a merciless time.”
Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues
American churchgoers are looking for more than biblical explanation from their pastor each week. Many expect the sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues.
2.1M Korean Christians estimated at joint worship service to affirm family, oppose gay marriage, pray for nation
In the afternoon of Reformation Sunday, Oct. 27, some 2.1 million Christians gathered for a joint worship service from 2pm to 5pm in Seoul, Korea to “unite for repentance, revival, and restoration of holiness in our society.” According to organizers, an estimated 1.1 million joined onsite despite the bad weather with another 1 million joining online. The unprecedented joint worship service brought together Korean churches across denominations as they affirmed traditional marriage and family and
Willow Creek Community Church invites believers to write prayer cards for the next president
This past Sunday, Willow Creek Community Church based in Illinois invited believers to “pray for the next president” during the service. The church not only expressed its concern for the upcoming election but also emphasized the role believers should play in the process and the importance of offering prayers for the nation's leaders.

New Facebook News Feed Update is Good for Users, But Could Affect Traffic of Publishers

Survey: Hong Kong teens generally identify with traditional Chinese cultural values

Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues American churchgoers are looking for more than biblical explanation from their pastor each week. Many expect the sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues.

Survey: Hong Kong teens generally identify with traditional Chinese cultural values

Global Lutherans celebrate Reformation Day, ‘trusting in the power of grace in a merciless time’.

Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues

2.1M Korean Christians estimated at joint worship service to affirm family, oppose gay marriage, pray for nation

Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues
American churchgoers are looking for more than biblical explanation from their pastor each week. Many expect the sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues.