Facebook To Clamp Down On Click Bait In News Feed

Forum Moderators: not2easy

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Facebook To Clamp Down On Click Bait In News Feed

engine

1:46 pm on Aug 26, 2014 (gmt 0)

I am not easily caught out by click bait headlines as I tend not to click those stories at all, but I have noticed many more appearing over time. Clearly, FB have caught up on people gaming their system and the publishers are going to get hit.

Today we’re announcing some improvements to News Feed to help people find the posts and links from publishers that are most interesting and relevant, and to continue to weed out stories that people frequently tell us are spammy and that they don’t want to see. We’re making two updates, the first to reduce click-baiting headlines, and the second to help people see links shared on Facebook in the best format.Facebook To Clamp Down On Click Bait In News Feed [newsroom.fb.com]

A small set of publishers who are frequently posting links with click-bait headlines that many people don’t spend time reading after they click through may see their distribution decrease in the next few months.

physics

7:43 pm on Aug 26, 2014 (gmt 0)

Here's a crazy thought. Show stories from pages I actually liked, not from "99 Cent Yack of the Month Club" (name intentionally obfuscated).

not2easy

9:09 pm on Aug 26, 2014 (gmt 0)

It is good to know that enough user discontent could possibly make a difference. If Facebook was like it is now at the time I signed up I would have never gotten in the habit of stopping by. It used to be an entertaining time of catching up with friends and family all over the place and finding interesting topics, people and events. Now it is about seeing very little of what you came to see, and interaction gets penalized.

They have had a set of rules in play that would cause most users to see more promotional posts such as the "99 cent Yack of the Month Club" as mentioned. It involves interacting with a post shared from a FaceBook Page.

Before I click to give a "Like" to something that is "cute" but not really anything I would want in my newsfeed, I check to see if it is shared from a FB Page source. Shared non-personal posts that you "Like" will generate at least 4 extra promo posts, often many more. On those shared posts that I would have "Liked", I either leave a comment or just paste a (y) and don't get any extra promos. The person who shared it gets my thank you note, (the 'Thumbs Up' of a Like) but I don't get bombed with ads.

It was that or stay out of the place...