Earlier this week, Google finally launched their actual version of Google+, which had been a beta for the past few months. Google’s newest attempt at conquering the world of social was a much better one compared to their past failures like Wave and Buzz – this means that Facebook finally has a threat worth looking out for.
Earlier in the year, while the talk of Google+ was getting louder and was finally launched as a beta version, Facebook decided to implement a couple of major changes by adding a video chat function and allowing users to retroactively group their friends into various clusters, similar to Google+’s circles feature. Now with the public release of Google+, Facebook underwent major construction and added features that critics deem to be useless and cluttering.
The most talked about feature currently on Facebook is the “ticker” function that acts as a real time ticker on the side of the homepage, similar to those that appear at the bottom of your TV when watching ESPN or CNN. The ticker literally shows any activity that your friends engage in – this means every status, every comment, and every like. Many people have criticized the feature because it’s essentially a newsfeed within a newsfeed. Also, users are exposed to comments from friends that are posted on their friend’s walls, even if you aren’t friends with that person, which is literally of no interest for most people. Facebook has defended its controversial ticker by stating that it helps bridge the gap in lag time that may be experienced in the newsfeed.
Amidst the whirlwind of criticisms, Facebook has stood by its latest feature. I’ve personally been hearing a lot of noise about the ticker, but as much as my friends hate it, it’s creating a ton of buzz for Facebook which is the ultimate goal for any social media networking site – create a bunch of buzz and maintain it.
Earlier in the year, while the talk of Google+ was getting louder and was finally launched as a beta version, Facebook decided to implement a couple of major changes by adding a video chat function and allowing users to retroactively group their friends into various clusters, similar to Google+’s circles feature. Now with the public release of Google+, Facebook underwent major construction and added features that critics deem to be useless and cluttering.
The most talked about feature currently on Facebook is the “ticker” function that acts as a real time ticker on the side of the homepage, similar to those that appear at the bottom of your TV when watching ESPN or CNN. The ticker literally shows any activity that your friends engage in – this means every status, every comment, and every like. Many people have criticized the feature because it’s essentially a newsfeed within a newsfeed. Also, users are exposed to comments from friends that are posted on their friend’s walls, even if you aren’t friends with that person, which is literally of no interest for most people. Facebook has defended its controversial ticker by stating that it helps bridge the gap in lag time that may be experienced in the newsfeed.
Amidst the whirlwind of criticisms, Facebook has stood by its latest feature. I’ve personally been hearing a lot of noise about the ticker, but as much as my friends hate it, it’s creating a ton of buzz for Facebook which is the ultimate goal for any social media networking site – create a bunch of buzz and maintain it.
ericlee
Eric Lee is a contributing writer for live.sanjika Digital Marketing & Creative Agency in Atlanta, GA. - http://live.sanjika.com