We all know Facebook is eye candy but did you know that there is a reason why it is such eye candy and we spend hours devouring what it gives us? I mean aside from the fact that every page looks the same and acts in the same way so it is easy to use and navigate. I mean that the language used in determining what is displayed (the algorithm) on your news feed (even if you think you are seeing everyone on your friends list) is making it so that you see more of what you want and less of what you don’t click on or look at.
Yep, the very way that Facebook was created makes it so that you see more of what you want to see but not necessarily anything of what you need to see. I will try to explain it a bit.
Lets say you are mostly friends with Green People but you became friends with some Blue People because you are interested in what they have to say. You might not always respond to the Blue People but you do look at the headline of news articles they put up or read their status updates. Due to the fact that you don’t respond to what the Blue People are saying over time your Facebook account stops showing you what they have to say and you can only see what Green People are talking about. Facebook thinks that this is what you want even though you made a conscious decision to to become friends with everyone on your list. Once in a while you will still have a Blue Person in your feed especially if you are friends to the point that you actually jump in and add your opinion to what they have to say.
What you can do
Even after making sure you are viewing the news feed from everyone on your friends list, over time you will see the information from the Blue people fading away again. This time frame could be a matter of days or weeks depending on how much data per day you are supplying their algorithm. The only solution I have for you is to make sure you visit the Blue People once in a while too. Check out their walls and see what they have to say. Show Facebook you want more then just eye candy.
You make a really good point. I swear, sometimes Facebook just stresses me out because they keep changing everything. I'm definitely going to try to take this tip to heart though.
It's tough if the people your friends with haven't changed their settings so that THEY see everyone's posts in their news feed not just the people they have recently interacted with…..if they don't you tend to become invisible to each other.
That is so very true. The only way to combat it is to try and get the information to them using other tools and hope they see it.
I think there is a way to make sure you get to see everything from everyone. It was recently sent to me on FB. If you go to where it says 'Top News' and 'Most Recent' and click on the little drop down arrow next to them then you can regulate who you get to see. Two options are for people you interact with the most, and everyone you are friends with or 'like'. This is a brief explanation, hope it helps and doesn't confuse!!