FaceBook Affinity

The big story this month has been the major changes to FaceBook.

The change that has grabbed most attention is the introduction of the TimeLine to replace profiles. It’s a big change for sure. But the changes that will impact on corporate FaceBook use were less publicised.

Broadly, it looks like there has been some major tweaking to the EdgeRank algorithm that will make it even harder to get noticed.

It seems that FaceBook has taken a heavier hand on what displays in newsfeeds.

The central concept of affinity appears to have been weighted up and the secondary concepts of time and weight have been put on steroids.

We have started our testing in earnest and we have already discovered that newsfeed punishment can be swift and brutal. It’s a worry for corporates who might inadvertently be struck off newsfeeds for a very long time.

The introduction of the new ticker on the right side is perhaps the savior for many corporate pages but only for those who are prepared to put serious effort and frequent posting.

In a word – it’s all about affinity.

So, nothing has changed, it’s just got a lot more defined.

We are keen on the changes. We think they will reward corporates who put the effort into being truly social and punish the lazy and sloppy. That’s a good thing in our books.

For info on the changes from the horse’s mouth check out the always interesting FaceBook Blog