Facebook today announced three new updates that will alter the way its Trending topics section works. Here’s what Facebook is changing.
1. Facebook Trending Will Add Headlines
Facebook said headlines that appear in the Trending section will be algorithmically selected “based on a combination of factors,” such as:
- Article engagement on Facebook.
- The publisher’s overall engagement.
- Whether other articles link to the story.
That means Facebook is giving up on automating its trending stories. The social network removed descriptions (that were written by human editors) as part of its last update in August.
Since that update, users have apparently been asking for Facebook to add headlines within trending, rather than only being able to see headline when you hovered over or clicked on a topic.
Clicking on a Trending topic will continue to take you to a personalized results page, where you can find additional news stories and posts.
2. Facebook Trending Will Look at Topic Popularity
Another Facebook update is designed to more quickly identify trending topics. The social network said it will now look at two things:
- How many publications have published articles about the same topic.
- How much engagement those articles have generated.
Until now, Facebook has only identified hot topics by looking for high engagement single posts or articles.
3. No More Facebook Trending Personalization
The final update Facebook announced is the elimination of personalization in its Trending section.
From now on, a user’s interests won’t determine what topics they see in their Trending section. Instead, everyone who lives in the same geographic area will see the same topics.
Image Credit: Facebook/author
