SpotlightJanuary2018

By Jamie Barrie C hief executive, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook Inc. said in a series of posts of the world’s largest social network site that the company is changing the way it filters posts and videos for News Feed to prioritize what friends and family share, while reducing the amount of non-advertising content from publishers and brands. This is a major change for Facebook, which has for years prioritized material that its complex computer algorithms think people will engage with through comments,”likes” or other ways of showing interest. John Hegeman, Facebook vice-president, said in a recent interview, that advertising on the social network would be unaffected by the new changes.

These changes come as Facebook and its social media competitors have been inundated by criticism that their products reinforce users’ views on social and political issues and lead to addictive viewing habits, raising ques- tions about possible regulation and the businesses’ long- term viability. As Congress is expected to hold more hearings this month, questioning the role social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube play in spreading propaganda. Zuckerberg said an overhaul of the company’s products, beginning with changes to the algorithms that control the News Feed, would help to address those concerns.

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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2018

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