Here’s what I know about my facebook behavior: I just want to see the status updates in order. If there is someone whose updates I don’t care to see, I’ve already unfollowed them. I don’t need facebook doing it for me. So the work-around I found was to toggle my newsfeed from the default “top stories” and switch to “most recent.” You can do this by clicking on the arrow next to “news feed” in the top left corner. Now, all stories will show up in chorological order.
Another weird way facebook is attempting to control our feed is by hiding most of the posts made by the pages we have followed. This is undoubtedly a bid to get large brands to “pay” to have their posts show up, but the result is that individuals, authors, charities, schools, and organizations that have created pages are penalized as well. And here’s the thing: when I subscribed to a page on facebook, I actually WANT to see the updates. I WANT to see what’s going on at my church. I WANT to read Jenn Hatmaker’s feed. I WANT to see what Sarah has to say. And yes, I WANT to know if my flashmob club is planning something new. I don’t need facebook deciding for me. If there is a brand whose posts I don’t care to see, I don’t follow that brand, but thank you for the effort, facebook.
So, here’s how to make sure you actually see the posts of the pages you’ve liked. Go to the page, drill down on the arrow next to “liked,” and select “get notifications.” That way, the pages you follow are actually followed. Here’s an illustration from How To Be A Dad’s page:
And if you want to follow my facebook page (or already follow and want to actually see the updates), it’s right here. Just make sure to drill down under “liked” and select “get notifications.”
Have you noticed the changes on facebook? Any other tips for getting it to work better?
