Anatomy of a News Feed story

Figure 4-1 shows a sample News Feed story. In this case, it’s a status update from a friend. In Facebook world a status update refers to any text people post that answers the question “What’s on your mind?”

Even in this tiny example, there are lots of things to pay attention to, though the first things you’ll probably pick up on when you’re scanning News Feed are “who” and “what”:

• Name and profile picture: The first part of any story is who it’s about or who wrote it. Both the name and picture are links to that person’s Timeline. In addition, if you hover the mouse cursor over a person’s name, you’ll see a miniaturized preview of the person's Timeline with information about your relationship (that you are friends and following her, in most cases) as well as a button you can click to message her.

  Hovering the mouse cursor over any bolded text in a News Feed story generates a preview for a Timeline, Page, or interest with specific buttons for adding friends, liking, or following.

• Content: The content section of a News Feed story is the most variable. It might be a preview of an article, or a video, or a photo album. It could also be a location where someone has checked in, or marked her location (the Golden Gate Bridge, her local coffee shop, etc.) when she posted. The content is the part of the story that is the most important; it’s the whole reason for the story existing. In Figure 4-1, the content is a status update about my garden.

After you’ve got the basics and who and what down, you can focus on some of the other details to be found in a simple status update:

• Feeling/Activity info: Not every status includes this, but Facebook provides a list of emotions and activities that can be appended to any status update or post. In this case, the emoji (and words) depict that I was “feeling hungry” when I wrote this status update.
• Tags: Tags are a way of marking who or what is with you when you post something to Facebook. You might tag a person who is with you when you write a post, or you might tag a TV show you are watching. Tags in posts are displayed as links in blue text. You can hover the mouse cursor over these tags to view more info about that person, Page, place, or thing. In the status update shown in Figure 4-1, I tagged my friend Steve.
• Timestamp: The little gray text near the profile photo in the post tells you how long ago this post was added.
• Privacy info: The gray icon next to the timestamp represents the privacy of that post. Hover the mouse cursor over the icon to see who else can see the post. Usually posts are visible either to everyone (Public) or just to that person’s friends.
• Like, Comment, and (Share): These links allow you to interact with your friends about the content they’ve posted. In addition, you can see how many people have already liked a post, and you can see any comments that have been made beneath the post itself. You may also see a text box next to your own profile picture prompting you to “Write a comment … .” I talk more about commenting, liking, and sharing in the “Interacting with News Feed” section later in this chapter.

Common story types

News Feed is made up of all sorts of stories. Although the basic anatomy is the same, here are some of the common story types you might encounter:

• Status updates: The status update post appears in Figure 4-1. Status updates are the short little posts that your friends make about what’s going on in their lives.
• Links: Figure 4-2 shows a post sharing a link. This is one of the chief ways I get my news: Friends share links to articles, and the previews are so interesting to me I have to read the whole article. Click the links (or the article’s title) to go to the articles.
• Photos and Videos: Figure 4-3 shows a photo album story. When people add photos or are tagged in photos, Facebook creates this type of story, with information about who was tagged and a sample of the photos that were added. You can include videos in photo albums (the “Play” arrow indicates a video). Click the photos or videos to see bigger versions, browse albums, and watch videos.
• Live Videos: Figure 4-4 shows a Live Video story. Live Videos are just what they sound like — videos that are being streamed live from wherever the poster is. You might see a friend streaming live video from the tide pools she is exploring, or you might see live video from a celebrity at a red-carpet event. Many news organizations share live video feeds of formal press conferences, as well as more casual live videos of behind the scenes footage. Hover the mouse cursor over the video to display the video’s progress bar and other controls. Click the volume icon to turn on the sound and tune in.
• Timeline Posts: Figure 4-5 shows a Timeline post story between two friends. In the example here, Carolyn wrote the message on Steve’s Timeline.
• Group and event posts: When people post to a group or event you're a member of, it may show up in your News Feed. These stories look very similar to the Timeline posts; the second friend’s name is simply replaced with the group or event name.
• Life Events: People can create Life Events from their Timelines. These events can be for an event as small as buying a new pair of sunglasses, but in my experience people use them to mark big moments: weddings, babies, moving, getting a pet, buying a house, and other things that tend to be truly major developments in one’s life. Figure 4-6 shows a Life Event post.
• Check-ins: A check-in is a way of marking where you are. Stories about check-ins show a map of their location, as well as a preview of information about the location where that person checked in. They also may show a list of other friends who have checked in there in the past.
• Tags: Stories about tags let you know what photos or posts your friends have recently been tagged in and include a preview of the photos with your friend in them. Because of the way tags work, you may be seeing photos or posts that were added by someone who is not your friend.
• Likes and comments: Stories about likes and comments let you know what Pages, posts, or articles your friends have liked or commented on recently. Usually whatever your friend has interacted with is shown and linked so that you can check it out for yourself.
• Friendships: Friendship stories might be about just two people becoming friends or about one person becoming friends with lots of different people.
• Changed cover and profile pictures: These stories often look very similar to a regular photo story. Click through to look at the new photos on your friends’ Timelines in their full-sized glory.
• Events: Stories about events (usually letting you know which friends have RSVP’d yes to an event) include a link to the event, so if you’re looking for someplace to go, you can say yes, too. Only public events show up here, so if you’ve added a private event, don’t worry about people who weren’t invited seeing it in News Feed.
• Recommendation requests: Sometimes friends may be looking for help creating a vacation itinerary or finding a good place to buy new soccer cleats. They can ask their wise Facebook friends for help answering these sorts of questions by requesting recommendations. Recommendation request stories usually include location information and a map (like check-in stories) so that you can quickly figure out if you’ll be able to help.
• Fundraisers: Fundraisers are ways for people to raise money toward any sort of goal. They might be associated with a nonprofit or trying to round up some cash for a personal goal or on behalf of a friend. When you see stories about your friends’ fundraisers, you get some information about the organization or cause, as well as links to learn more or donate.
• Read/Watch/Listen: Certain services and websites, such as the book-reading site Goodreads, may be allowed to automatically post specific actions people take on their site to Facebook. See Chapter 15 for more information about how these applications work.
• Sponsored and suggested: Suggested and sponsored stories are ads. Ads are what keep Facebook free to use, so there’s no way to remove them. These ads are hopefully relevant to you and your life and may even help you find Pages or services you find interesting.

Liking

Liking is one of the simplest actions on Facebook. Here’s how you like something:

1. Click Like.

It really is that easy. Anytime you see something that is just good, you can click Like to let the person who shared it know that you liked seeing it. Like buttons may appear as text or as a thumbs up icon (or both). When you like something, the person who shared it will be notified (and trust me, being notified that someone liked something you shared is a great feeling). Additionally, other people seeing that story may see that you have liked it. If you ever like something by accident, simply click Unlike to undo it.

I don’t want to overcomplicate liking by over-explaining when you might like something, when you might like something instead of commenting on it, when you might like something and comment on it. Suffice it to say that if you enjoyed something you saw, or that you agree with something your friend said, or that, well, you liked that content, then clicking Like communicates the sentiment loud and clear.

Reacting

Liking is the simplest way to let someone know you saw and appreciated something they posted. Sometimes, however, Like just doesn’t seem appropriate. People often post stressful or sad things on Facebook; it would be insensitive to respond to “My dog had to be put down today” with Like. On the other side of things, sometimes Like isn’t a strong enough term. Do you like that baby smiling, or do you love it so much you want to eat its face? Historically, you might see people commenting on these sorts of posts with one-word responses: Love. Dislike. LOL. Sad. Reactions is Facebook’s way of providing more than just one button to express your sentiment. To leave a Reaction other than a Like, simply hover the mouse cursor over the Like button or link and wait for the Reactions menu to open. You can then choose your Reaction from the following options:

• Like: The old standby. Click on the thumbs up icon to let your friend know you liked their post.
• Love: The heart icon lets your friend know you loved their post.
• Haha: The laughing smiley face lets your friend know you thought what they posted was funny.
• Wow: The smiley face gaping in awe lets your friend know that you were impressed if not flabbergasted by their post.
• Sad: Express a little empathy by clicking the crying smiley face. It is the virtual equivalent of a gentle pat on the back.
• Angry: The virtual equivalent of a little “grrrrr,” clicking the glowering smiley face lets your friend know that you are angry.

When you click any of these reactions, your friend receives a notification that you reacted to their post.

Liking Pages

You can like almost anything on Facebook. You can like a photo or a status; you can even like a comment on a photo or status. But there’s a slight difference between liking this sort of content and liking Pages.

Pages are sort of official profiles that companies, bands, and public figures make to represent themselves on Facebook. They mostly work like Timelines (the key differences are covered in Chapter 14), except instead of friending Pages, you like them.

This sort of liking has one big implication you should be aware of. It means you may start seeing posts and updates from the Page in your News Feed, alongside stories from your friends. These sorts of updates can be interesting and cool if you’re into the company or brand (for example, Disneyland or The New York Times). If they start to bother you, you can always hide that Page from your News Feed.

Commenting

Liking something is the quickest and easiest way to let your friend know that you saw what they had to say and enjoyed it. Commenting is also simple, and it takes you from a reaction — I liked this! — to a conversation. The only requirement for a comment is that you to have something to say. The comment box appears under most content on Facebook. You can see an example of it in Figure 4-8.

When you comment on something on Facebook, anyone who can see that item—whether it is a post, a photo, or something else—will be able to see and respond to your comment. By the same token, you can see comments from people you aren’t friends with.

Sharing

You’ve probably noticed the word Share being used a lot on Facebook. In addition to the Share box (also called the Publisher) at the top of your News Feed and Timeline, Facebook has a specific Share feature, designed to make it easy to post and send content that you find both on Facebook and on the web.

Sharing is a variation of using the Publisher, or Share box. I go over using the Publisher in the “Sharing Your Own News” section of this chapter.

Perhaps you’ve already noticed the little Share links all over Facebook. They show up on albums, individual photos, events, groups, News Feed stories, and more. They help you share content quickly without having to copy and paste.

If you’re looking at content on Facebook that you want to show someone, simply click the Share link near it. This opens a small menu with several options:

• Share Now (<Privacy>): This is the quickest way to share something. Choosing this option simply posts the content to your own Timeline (and, by extension, your friends’ News Feeds). The <Privacy> notice reminds you who normally sees content that you share on Facebook. It might say “Public” or “Friends” or “Custom” depending on your privacy settings.

• Share: This option opens a full Share box that allows you to add your own commentary on the content you are sharing before you share it. Use the drop-down menu at the top (shown in Figure 4-9) to choose how you’d like to share the content.

  • Share on Your Timeline: This option posts the content to your Timeline the same way you post a link or a photo from your Share box. This means it will go into your friends’ News Feeds as well. This is redundant with the Share Now option, except you also get to add any comments to your post about your friend’s post before you share it.
  • Share on a Friend’s Timeline: This option is the same as copying and pasting a link into a post you leave on your friend’s Timeline (but it’s much easier than all that copy/paste nonsense).
  • Share in a Group: This option allows you to post the content to a specific group you're a member of. You can find more about sharing with groups in Chapter 10.
  • Share in an Event: This option allows you to post the content to an Event you are attending.
  • Share on a Page You Manage (for Page owners only): If you’re the admin of a Page — a Timeline for non-people — you can share things as a post from your Page.
  • Share in a Private Message: This accomplishes the same thing as copying and pasting a link into a message to a friend. In other words, only the friend you send it to will see the link, whereas sharing via the Timeline means anyone viewing your friend’s Timeline can also see the content. I talk about messages in Chapter 9.

  If you’re choosing to share on your own Timeline, you can click the privacy drop-down menu next to the Post button to change who can see the post.

• Send as Message: This option opens a message box where you can type in names you would like to message with your friend’s post. You can also add a comment to the “Say something about this” section to let your friend(s) know why you are sharing it with them (yes, this is the same as the Share in a Private Message option, above).
• Share on a friend’s Timeline: This option lets you post the content to a friend’s Timeline. Again, it is fundamentally a shortcut that accomplishes the same thing as copying and pasting a link on your friend’s Timeline (and yes, it’s the same as the Share on a Friend’s Timeline option, above).
• Share to a Page: If you’re a Page owner or admin, you can use this link to share something as a post from your Page. When you click this option, you can add your commentary and decide if you want it attributed directly to the Page or from you. Followers of your Page will then be able to see that content (yes, this is the same as the Share on a Page You Manage option, above).

If you click Share on a friend’s post, the friend who originally shared it is given a credit. So if you reshare an article, the post that your friends see will say Shared <Friend’s Name>’s Post so that everyone knows where you found it.

Sharing across the Internet

If you’re a reader of blogs, or a viewer of videos, or an online shopper, you probably know that virtually everything you look at has links to share it. Almost any content you share can easily be shared directly through Facebook if you are logged in to Facebook in your browser. Next time you are reading an article on your favorite site, look to see if you can spot a Facebook logo (you may need to click “share” first, and then select Facebook from a menu of options).

When you choose to share on Facebook, a Share box opens in its own window. You can then view the post, add any of your own comments, adjust the privacy, and post it to your Timeline without ever having to leave the page you were on.

Saving

For me, News Feed is one of the best sources I have for articles, videos, and legitimate old-fashioned news that I might find interesting. I follow several Pages for newspapers and magazines, and my friends are the nerdy type who read and share articles that they find interesting as well. The only problem with this is that sometimes I see articles that look interesting when I don’t have time to click through and read them. That’s why the Save feature is one of my favorite hidden Facebook features. Saving articles, videos, and other posts is an effective way to make a reading list for later, when you have more time. This is also a good way to bookmark helpful websites you might need later (like a list of the best pumpkin patches to visit in the fall).

To save a post, click the small down arrow in the upper right corner of the post you want to save. This opens the News Feed menu (see Figure 4-10). Click the Save post option (usually in the middle of the menu). This automatically adds the post to your Saved section. You can get to your saved posts at any time by clicking Saved in the menu on the left side of the window. Facebook may also occasionally show you a selection of your saved items in your News Feed in case you forgot about them.

Hiding posts and people

There are ways to tell News Feed explicitly who you do and don’t want to see (and I go over these in the “News Feed Preferences” section). But chances are you might not know what you like or don’t like until you see it. Sometimes you’ll realize that you will simply explode if you have to see another baby photo from a particular coworker. Sometimes someone you know just won’t stop posting political screeds. And sometimes one post will just bug you and you won’t want to see it anymore.

As soon as you realize you don’t like what you are seeing, you can easily give this feedback to News Feed using the menu of options found as part of any News Feed story. To open this menu, click on the small down arrow in the upper right corner of any News Feed story. This menu is shown in Figure 4-11.

This menu gives you at least two options regarding the story you are looking at

• Hide post: Selecting this option will immediately hide that post from your News Feed. Additionally, Facebook will try to show you fewer posts “like this.” In other words, depending on the type of story you are hiding (such as a photo story or life event) Facebook will try not to show you as many of that story type.
• Unfollow <Friend or Page Name>: Selecting this option will semi-permanently prevent stories from this friend from appearing in your News Feed at all. I say semi-permanently because you will be able to undo this option later if you wish.

Selecting either option will hide the story you are looking at and display a small confirmation message to let you know that you have successfully hidden that post or unfollowed your friend. You can click the blue Undo here if you regret your actions.

If you are looking at a post that involves multiple people, such as a story about Sansa (your friend) tagged in a photo by Petyr (not your friend), you may see additional options to Hide All from Petyr. If someone is sharing a post from a Page or an App, you may also see options to hide posts from that Page or App.

Unfollowing friends is different from unfriending them. Unfriending them severs the link between your Timelines and may mean you are no longer able to see certain parts of their Timeline. Unfollowing simply removes their posts from your News Feed.

News Feed preferences

Hiding posts and people is a good way to incrementally adjust your News Feed over time. But if you’re looking to make a bigger impact right away, you may want to adjust your News Feed preferences instead. Your News Feed preferences allow you to choose friends you want to see first, unfollow friends you already know you don’t want in your News Feed, and reconnect with people you may have unfollowed in the past.

To get to the News Feed Preferences menu, hover the mouse cursor over the News Feed link in your left-side menu. Click the ellipsis icon that appears to the left of the words News Feed and then click Edit Preferences in the menu that appears. This opens the Preferences menu shown in Figure 4-12.

There are four sections of preferences you can use to influence News Feed. (The fifth option, “See more options” is simply a way to keep track of any apps you may have hidden from News Feed).

Prioritize

Prioritizing friends is a way of designating people you always want to see in News Feed. I prioritize people like my best friends and my husband. I also have prioritized a more distant friend who I think posts hilarious stuff, so I want to make sure I don’t miss what she has to say.

Posts from prioritized friends will always be at the top of your News Feed when you log in. Unfortunately, if your friends don’t post very often, there still won’t be anything to show you. News Feed needs something to work with. You can see a prioritized post in Figure 4-13. The only thing that differentiates such a post (other than the fact that it’s at the top of News Feed when you log in) is a tiny blue star in the upper right corner of the post.

Click Prioritize Who to See First to open a menu for choosing people from your friend list. Facebook displays the people it thinks you’ll likely want to see first at the top, you may have to scroll down a bit to find whom you’re looking for. Click on any friend’s face to select them (and click again to deselect them). When you’re finished, click the blue Done button to save your choices.

Status updates

A status update is a way of reporting what’s going on with you right now. Facebook uses the phrase “What’s on your mind?” to prompt a status update. So you can share what you’re thinking about, what you’re doing, or really anything. To update your status, follow these steps:

1. Click into the Publisher, where it says, “What’s on your mind?”

   The Publisher expands and the rest of the screen fades away so that you can focus on your post.

2. Type your status.

   If you’re experiencing writer’s block, check out the upcoming section, “What should I say?”

3. Click Post.

   It’s the blue button in the lower-right corner of the Publisher.

Like I said, sharing on Facebook is meant to be easy.

Once you’ve shared your status, your friends will likely see it in their News Feeds and they will be able to like and comment on your status.

What should I say?

There isn’t a simple answer to the question of what you should or shouldn’t post as a status update. The question “What’s on your mind?” is meant to provoke whatever it is you’d like to share.

In general, sharing where you are or what you’re doing are basic status reports that make sense as status updates. When I see updates from my friends they often are sharing a random thought that passed through their heads as they were out and about during the day. If there’s a football game on I can often figure out what’s happening based on my friends’ status updates. Check out your own friends’ posts to see what they are talking about.

You might share something notable you saw recently; you might tell a quick and funny story (or a longer one, as there isn’t a word limit on status updates) about your day. Originally, status updates all started with the words “<Carolyn> is…” and for the most part status updates tend to be about what you’re doing or thinking about right now. All the examples captured in the figures in this chapter are the sorts of posts I see regularly on Facebook. If you’re feeling uninspired, feel free to post that you are reading Facebook For Dummies.

Beyond the basic status update

Now that you know the basics of posting a status update, you can learn more about all the other buttons and options you see in the Publisher. Adding links to your updates allows you to share interesting things you’ve found all over the Internet. You can also click any of the buttons at the bottom of the Publisher to add a pop of color to your post, or you can add photos, tags, and details about what you’re doing and where you are. You can combine almost all these additions to your posts, for example adding first an emoji, then a photo. However, you can’t add both links and photos from your hard drive at the same time.

Adding a background

Adding a background color or design is a fun way to add some personality to a post. When you add a background color it also changes the format and font size of your post, so it gives your words a certain amount of emphasis that they don’t always have in a traditional status update. You can see the difference between a regular status update and one with a background color, as shown in Figure 4-15.

To add a background color, simply click on one of the colorful squares that appear beneath your text when you start typing a status. As soon as you click on a color, your text will appear on that background. You can then play around with what you want to say, as well as clicking between the different colors and designs to find the one that fits your post best. When it’s to your liking, click Post.

If you ever start creating a post and decide you don’t like it, click the X in the upper right corner of the Publisher to cancel everything you’ve done and go back to News Feed.

Adding an emoji

An emoji is a smiley face icon or other small-sized image that you can insert into your post. To select from a menu of emoji, click on the smiley face icon on the right side of the Publisher’s text box. When you see the emoji you want to add, click it. You can add emoji to text or simply create a post made entirely of emojis. You can see an example of emoji in Figure 4-16.

Adding a tag

A tag is a way of linking someone or something else to your own content on Facebook. Most often tags are used to let people know who is in a photo, but tags can also be used in status updates to let people know who is with you. People also use tags to bring certain friends’ attention to something they are posting. For example, you might see a status update that says something like “Who’s up for going climbing? Jon, Ygritte?” Each bolded name links to a friend’s Timeline. Additionally, those friends get notified when the post is published, which means they definitely see the invitation to go climbing.

There are two ways to tag someone in your post. The first is to type the @ symbol (that’s Shift + 2) and begin typing the name of the person you want to tag. Facebook auto-completes as you type. When you see your friend’s name highlighted, hit Enter or select it with your mouse. When you tag someone this way, the tag appears as part of the post: “Way better than Tyrion at brooding.”

The second way that you can add a tag is by clicking the Tag Friends button at the bottom of the Publisher. Clicking this opens a small text field at the bottom of the Publisher that asks, “Who are you with?” Again, start typing your friend’s name and press Enter when you see it highlighted in the auto-complete menu. When you tag people this way, their name gets appended to the top of the post: “Get busy brooding — with Tyrion.” You can see both types of tags in Figure 4-17.

In addition to people, you can tag Pages. For example, you might want people to know that you are very excited about the latest episode of Game of Thrones. Type the @ sign and start typing Game of Thrones, and you’ll find that it also appears in the auto-complete menu.

Adding what you’re doing or feeling

Clicking the Feeling/Activity button opens a menu of choices to explain what you are doing, thinking, or feeling while writing your status update. You may be feeling blessed, or baking cookies, or traveling to the Grand Canyon. The options here are virtually endless. The information you enter here gets appended to your post, often with a tiny emoji, or icon, that further illustrates what you are doing or feeling. Additionally, if something you are doing has a page or information about it on Facebook, Facebook may add a preview of that information to your post. Figure 4-18 shows an example of a post with information about what I am celebrating. There is an emoji of confetti and a horn to signify New Year’s Eve.

You can only add one thing you are doing or feeling to a post, so unfortunately you cannot be both feeling conflicted and watching Game of Thrones at the same time, as far as your posts go.

Controlling who sees your posts

The big question people often have before they share something on Facebook is “Who is going to see this?” Facebook makes it easy to know who will see a post as you are creating it. In the bottom left corner of the Publisher is the Privacy menu, shown in Figure 4-19.

The Privacy menu has four very basic options that allows you to simply decide who will see your post. There are some more advanced options I touch on briefly here but that will be covered in more detail in Chapter 6.