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Facebook enhances new features

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Press Trust of India Houston
Last Updated : Jan 20 2013 | 2:34 AM IST

As rival Google+ opened its membership to the world, the popular social network giant Facebook is busy enhancing its "News Feed" section by adopting a "newspaper" approach to make it more interesting.

Facebook's "News Feed" that streams updates from friends will give priority to important posts, images shared at the website will be displayed larger, and a "Ticker" chat column is being added for real-time conversations.

"This is an update we have been working on a long time, unrelated to anything else," Facebook product manager Keith Schacht said when asked whether the launch of rival Google+ in June was a factor behind the recent barrage of Facebook features.

In recent weeks, Facebook has focused on ways for members to better control what information gets shared with whom.

"Now, News Feed will act more like your own personal newspaper. You won't have to worry about missing important stuff. All your news will be in a single stream with the most interesting stories featured at the top.

If you haven't visited Facebook for a while, the first things you'll see are top photos and statuses posted while you've been away. They're marked with an easy-to-spot blue corner".

Those who check Facebook more frequently will see the most recent stories first. Photos will also be bigger and easier to enjoy while you're scrolling through.

Another upgrade is "Ticker," which allows users to see and chat with friends about photos, articles, and other things they're posting in real-time.

"Ticker shows you the same stuff you were already seeing on Facebook, but it brings your conversations to life by displaying updates instantaneously.

Now when a friend comments, asks a question or shares something like a check in, you'll be able to join the conversation right away.

Click on anything in ticker to see the full story and chime in, without losing your place," he said.

Facebook users with wider screens can slide the gray bar between ticker and chat up or down to adjust how many updates they see at a time.

To control who can see your updates anywhere on Facebook, including in ticker and News Feed, one can adjust his or her sharing control or apps settings.

The social network has introduced a new Lists feature designed to help people who are uncomfortable with this one-size-fits-all Friends concept.

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First Published: Sep 21 2011 | 3:00 PM IST

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