USA TODAY
MENLO PARK, Calif. (USA TODAY) -- Facebook's News Feed has a new face, which may bring a frown from the newspaper industry.
The
revamped look -- whose most striking images are bigger photos and
richer video on a member's profile -- is clearly designed to look and
feel of a newspaper, "switcher" tool bar on News Feed lets Facebook
members switch to different sections, as they would the sports or life
section in a paper.
With the new look, users can dive into posts
of all their friends, in chronological order; they can view a revamped
music feed to see what artists are posting and where they are
performing; and find various games.
"There really is a place in
the world for a personalized newspaper," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
said in a briefing today at the company's headquarters here. "How we're
all sharing is changing."
The new News Feed has more of a visual
look, with bigger photos, video and elements of one's profile in
Timeline to appeal to consumers and businesses. Zuckerberg says it hopes
to reduce "clutter" on one's Facebook page.
Facebook's new look
is also designed to improve its ability to sell ads via mobile devices.
Since it began placing ads on News Feed, Facebook sold more mobile
display revenue in the USA than any other ad publisher last year,
eMarketer estimates. It took home 18.4% of the market, edging Google
(17%), which is also making strides.
On Wednesday, Google added bigger photos and improved navigation tools to Google+, its social-networking rival to Facebook.
The
revamped News Feeds "reflects elements of some of the most popular
apps" on Facebook, such as Path and Spotify that let people share photos
and music with friends. Micah Adler, CEO of Fiksu, whose technology
optimizes mobile ads on Facebook. -- "Facebook is unifying the best of
mobile and social into a singular experience."
Facebook is rolling
out the feature -- as it often does -- slowly over the next few weeks
for the web, smartphones and tablets. The last major change for
Facebook's look was the introduction of its search function this year.
The news sent Facebook shares up 4% today, to $28.58 per share.