Facebook's fresh News Feed change will worry publishers

PanARMENIAN.Net - It can be hard to keep track of the seemingly constant changes to Facebook's News Feed, but the latest shift appears to be prioritising the posts closer to home, Digital Spy reports.

The social network announced on Wednesday, June 29 that it will now show posts by friends and family over posts from brands and publishers - meaning that if you're logging in for the latest cat video, you'll have to hope your mum has already shared it, Digital Spy said.

When you visit Facebook on the web or on mobile, the majority of stories and videos you see will be there because your Facebook friends have shared them, not because a company whose page you once 'liked' posted a story or update.

Within the announcement, Facebook's Adam Mosseri, vice president of product management and the News Feed, doesn't say publisher posts will be demoted because of the change, but the friends-and-family-come-first approach has clear implications. And since publishers depend on Facebook to drive traffic their way, the change will affect media brands' ability to reach an audience, Digital Spy said.