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16th Jan 2014

Facebook copies Twitter and adds ‘Trending’ section to News Feed

It's not available in Ireland yet, but you can be sure it is coming...

JOE

It’s not available in Ireland yet, but you can be sure it is coming…

In its ongoing mission to become THE place to get all your information, Facebook have added a ‘Trending’ section to the News Feed. Using algorithms that identify words and topics that are circulating around social media and cross referencing them with the stuff you and your Facebook friends are interested in, the Trending list, which will appear in the top right of the screen, should be tailored to your interest. Emphasis on the should is advised.

Facebook screen grab trends

Screen grab via TheVerge

It is first being rolled out in the US, Australia, India and the UK but we can be sure it will hit Ireland very soon indeed. Reports from those who have already had a go at it suggest that the feature, which is only on desktop for now, though a mobile version is being worked on, suggest that the topics selected may not be very accurate yet.

And, once you click into the trending topics, for example the Oscar nominations, the stories displayed are not as rich or as on topical as those on Twitter, with a greater weighting towards the output of celebrities commenting on them or the work of established media organisations.

As it just sits tucked out of the way, most of us won’t mind the addition to our screens though. Whether we ever use it is the big question.

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