By Tamarra Kemsley and Hilary Norton
Among the many social quirks of Facebook such as friending, poking and messaging, Facebook added a subscribe button and now individuals are able to receive tailored updates based on criteria they set.
Facebook users can “subscribe” to others regardless of friend status. Personal control settings will allow individuals to tailor how much of their own information will be made available.
This new feature gives consumers the option to follow certain updates while ignoring others. For example, a user can get photo or ‘Life Event’ updates, without gaming or status updates crowding their news feed. Users can also choose how many updates they receive, subscribing to ‘All Updates’ or ‘Only Important’ updates. These modifications can adapt any stream to its owner.
While the new feature will allow more consumer control, BYU student Alyssa Lamprecht, 24, said she doubts the necessity.
“I can see pros and cons,” Lamprecht said. “Our society uses Facebook updates to stay connected and feel a part of other people’s lives. But if someone is really that determined to receive specific updates, they probably already have a Twitter account.”
Camlyn Giddins, a sophomore said the subscribe button would help inform her about clubs and news.
“I would start following things like BYUSA more closely and NPR,” Giddins said.”But I guess that’s what my Google homepage does.”
Although the option to subscribe enhances Facebook’s hugely successful site, some wonder whether the idea is original enough to catch on. Will this advancement to the social network make a difference or go unused and unnoticed?
Facebook product manager Naomi Gleit, in an article on Mashable.com, said as a business, Facebook is constantly changing and evolving to cater to the desires of the users. Members of the Facebook team express that this step is part of a never-ending progression. The feature is just another highlight the social networking site has added to offer more to their users.
“Facebook has always been working on giving users more control,” Gleit said.
Subscribing is completely optional. Users can also choose whether others can subscribe to their updates. This can be done by turning off the subscribe feature on their own profile.
Gleit said this new element brings another level to requesting friendships on Facebook. Existing friendships do not equate subscriptions, though in the future, once a user sends a friend request, they will automatically become a subscriber.
