Greater access to news as Facebook bolsters trending service

Facebook is attempting to close the gap on Twitter as a news-oriented social media site with changes to its news and trending sections, giving broadcasters a greater opportunity to distribute news and promos via twitter if they play their cards right.

2014 saw the introduction of the trending bar on the Facebook homepage, allowing people to easily digest what was being talked about worldwide while browsing their news feed.

The changes in trending are now coming to Facebook mobile with further search capabilities that Facebook says allow readers to explore stories from different points of view.

As well as another platform for broadcasters to distribute news, they will also have greater access to news from around the world via the social media network.

Facebook has roughly 1.3 billion users while Twitter has 284 million. Of these 284 million, the focus is heavily on members of the community who have an influential voice outside of social media as well.

Twitter’s own description of its user base is “millions of people from around the world, as well as influential individuals and organisations, such as world leaders, government officials, celebrities, athletes, journalists, sports teams, media outlets and brands.”

A bolstered trending function in Facebook will allow broadcasters easier access to important stories being broken not just by influential people but by the masses, and will give facebook a means of battling Twitter’s influence in the breaking news market.

Significantly different to Twitter, Facebook describes its user base as “people who use Facebook to stay connected with their friends and family, to discover what is going on in the world around them, and to share and express what matters to them to the people they care about.”

Often, changes effecting the little guy are just as important as issues effecting the social elite and the new Facebook trending service will allow broadcasters to break stories faster and from a larger pool than ever before.
 

Tags: | |