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You are here: News > News > Facebook Adds Refresh Alerts to Homepage Stream
| » IT Security NEWS |
| » 09 May 2009 |
| Facebook Adds Refresh Alerts to Homepage Stream |
| On Friday evening yesterday, several Facebook users quickly noticed something different about their homepage. It now sported a refresh alert feature that allows them to update their friends' new status messages, links, applications, games, and so on in real-time. This helpful little service is the exact thing that's been missing in Facebook's redeveloped, stream-centered homepage since its renovation last spring. It's the missing piece to the redesign puzzle that should help the company gain a comfortable lead over its social networking competitors. On that note, perhaps Facebook's redesign would have been more successful if it did a better job at easing its users to the changes. Refresh alerts that complement the streaming features of the homepage are all well and good, but if Facebook wants people to use the news feed filters, it needs to make sure they know how to use the lists needed to make them work in the first place. The social network needs more easily understood improvements like the refresh alert and less abrupt redesigns that could leave its users confused and annoyed. For instance, the above feed filters should feature two options instead of just one: one that features the redesigned news feed, the other sporting an old-school feed that shows users the primary Facebook elements that were there in the news feed beforehand. By doing so, this would serve as the training mechanism needed to help users adapt to the changes before the real deluge of information starts coming in through Facebook Connect. Going back, it appears that the refresh alerts service was implemented earlier this week per Facebook's official blog. Then again, it doesn't look like it has rolled out onto everyone's accounts immediately, so some Facebook users may have gotten the new feature earlier than others. At any rate, this is a good sign showing that Facebook is finally listening to its users for a change instead of applying changes, redesigns, and alterations without prior notice. The Facebook blog states that the refresh alerts feature was one of the most requested features from users after the new design was ultimately implemented. The social networking site calls it "auto refresh", but that title is a tad misleading considering that it doesn't automatically refresh your homepage for new updates. Thankfully, users have the option to use or not to use the feature at their own behest. In fact, the refresh alert is quite similar to the reload alert seen on many a Twitter search query or on other sites like the Tumbir Dashboard. All-in-all, this is a smart move by Facebook that finally addresses its need to keep up with its competition. Decisions like that will hopefully keep the site relevant in today's ever-changing social networking landscape. |
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