Facebook Changes are Just the Beginning, More ‘Dislike’ Around the Corner

If you've spent any time on Facebook in the couple of days, chances are you've caught wind of the widespread dislike for the social network's new and improved news feed format. Well, buckle up, because it may be a bumpy ride over the next few weeks as Mark Zuckerberg and company are preparing for some rather profound changes.

Some have reported that making a couple of changes can restore the news feed to its pre-change behavior. I'll share that after the jump, but your mileage may vary!

Several tech-savvy friends have suggested modifying your account settings by clicking on "Account", then "Notifications", and clearing the check box next to "Email Frequency". Finally, click on the drop down arrow in the upper right corner of any "top story" entry, and choose the option to no longer count it as a top story. Friends have reported mixed results.

Why the changes? According to Mashable, the emotional connection with Facebook friends is disintegrating. "More and more people visit Facebook out of necessity rather than desire. It’s a platform people prefer to hate, but won’t leave simply because all their friends are there."

Over the next few weeks, expect another wave of changes including revamped Friend Lists, a real-time news ticker, and the subscribe button. "These changes will make Facebook a place where nearly everything in your life is enhanced by your social graph."

Since the actually pay me to investigate new technology, I've played wit the new design a bit and actually found some of the changes encouraging. If you click on the drop-down arrow next to any post, you'll see several options, which will actually give you the flexibility to hide or unsubscribe from certain types of posts. It may take some work initially, but eventually I can customize my feed to not include games or videos. I'm also looking forward to turning down the volume on certain "chatty" friends. You have friends that share every single detail, right?