Intern-al Issues is a fortnightly blog written by our Intern Sean that looks at the latest issues and trends in digital marketing. Enjoy!
How can we make our Facebook experience easier?
Ever had that feeling where you take a look at your wardrobe and it makes you feel a little sick? Clothes everywhere, items you don’t remember buying, clothes you haven’t worn in years, a pair of shoes that have sat in the corner collecting dust. I think we all know the feeling.
That is how I felt staring at my Facebook feed.
What was once a beautiful stream of funny videos and the only way I could remember anyone’s birthday has now evolved into a cesspool of unwanted rants, fake news, political podiums and Russian spy-backed ads! Okay, maybe the spy-backed ads is a little overboard, but you get the idea.
I became a little overwhelmed. I decided to do a clean-up. It was time to get pro-active with my Facebook account.
I have put together a few quick steps to help you clean up your Facebook feed. Simple to do and will allow you to see more of the things that you care about.
1. Prioritize information that you want to see.
Click in the top right corner of any Facebook page and select: News Feed Preferences. From here there is a bunch of options to choose from – Prioritize who to see first, Unfollow people to hide their posts, reconnect with people you unfollowed and discover pages that match your interest. Once you click on ‘Prioritize who to see first’ you are shown are list of your friends to select from. I really purged on this feature. Political issues such as the gay marriage plebiscite has allowed for some negative comments to appear on my feed recently. I decided I no longer want to see posts from certain people. And don’t stress, if you unfollow someone they will never know.
2. Snooze people.
Okay, this feature may not be available for everyone but it sounds great. Facebook is testing a ‘Snooze’ button with some users that allows you to temporarily “snooze” someone’s posts from your news feed. Perhaps you don’t want to permanently unfollow someone but you need a break from them. You can snooze their posts for 24 hours, an entire week, or 30 days. You know that one person who would always spoil Game of Thrones episodes as soon as the episode was released? BOOM! 24-hour snooze on that guy!
3. Report false news, hate speech, graphic content.
One of Facebook’s biggest problems is the rise of fake news across the platform. As a result, Facebook are testing multiple features to try and combat this issue such as a button that allows you to ‘learn more about this publisher’ when links are posted. Until this is implemented across the board it is up to the individual to take control of their own feed and report fake news and other inappropriate content when possible. The image below highlights how easy it is to quickly report a link. Due to the fake news around the recent US election and false reports about the recent Las Vegas shootings Facebook is investing more resources into fact checking and currently have plans to release more information for who is behind political advertisements.
Although Facebook have some handy algorithms that can predict what you want to see on your feed it is important to remember the human element. Stay on top of your content and constantly choose what you want to see and your Facebook experience will be a breeze.
Don’t let the clothes pile up to high. If your wardrobe is getting messy. Clean it!
