Facebook like in the old days: Separate friends feed without suggestions
Facebook again only shows posts from friends in a separate tab. No suggestions, no AI spam.
(Image: Meta Blogbeitrag)
Not so much AI-generated pictures of Jesus made of crabs or tinyhouses at cheap prices or pictures of stars and their touching stories. This is apparently what Facebook now wants to offer with the new Friends tab. "Bringing the Magic of Friends Back to Facebook" – brings the magic of friends back to Facebook, according to the corresponding blog post.
Mark Zuckerberg himself also compares the new feed with the year 2006, posting a post on Instagram in which he scrolls through his feed then and now through the new friends feed. The new Friends tab will only contain content from friends, not suggested content. Meta announces that this is actually just one of several steps this year to "bring back the joy we once created with Facebook".
Meta against enshittification
The blog post also states that friends have been lost sight of: "Over the years, Facebook has evolved to meet changing needs, creating world-class experiences in Groups, Videos, Marketplace and more, but the magic of friends is gone. We'll be adding several 'OG' Facebook experiences throughout the year, starting with the revamped 'Friends' tab.
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The term enshittification, coined by Cory Doctorow, has been coined to describe the transformation of social networks and other online services when investor interests take over. In German, this is often referred to as Plattformverfall. More advertising, higher costs, more focus on partners and advertisers lead to users losing focus. In addition to Facebook, this also applies to Google, for example, whose search results are dominated by advertising, fake reviews and products are a problem for Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and co. are displaying more advertising, which is often questionable.
AI is also likely to be causing problems for the major internet companies at the moment. On Facebook, there is a veritable flood of AI posts designed to collect clicks. Google also has to try to separate original sources from copies and SEO-friendly AI spam.
Facebook's new friends tab launches immediately in the USA and Canada. It includes not only friends' posts, but also birthdays and suggestions for other mutual friends. "Social media should feel social. With that in mind, we'll be adding more fun, simple experiences throughout the year to help you connect and share on Facebook."
(emw)
