Facebook News Feed Changing Immediately: Mark Zuckerberg Makes Announcement At News Conference

Facebook will be introducing a newer News Feed immediately, the company reports.

In Menlo Park Calif. Thursday, Facebook announced a redesign of its News Feed, which is the front page that users see when they access the service.

As soon as a user logs into their Facebook account, the News Feed might look different.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of the social media site described it as a "personalized newspaper," at a news conference, the New York Times reported.

Zuckerberg addressed details of the News Feed at the Facebook headquarters. He said that is more visual and allows users to choose the topics they're most interested in. The images and links to articles are bigger, making it easier to see on mobile screens.

"This design reflects the evolving face of News Feed," Zuckerberg said at the conference.

NYT learned from the conference that users will now be able to drill down into topic-specific news feeds - one for music, another for photos, another for the publications, celebrities or brands they follow.

Zuckerberg said the choice is aimed at addressing a concern raised by advertisers and content publishers like news sites: under the old system, it was difficult for their followers to see everything the companies have posted.

NYT reported that Zuckerberg didn't go into detail about the benefits for advertisers, but the redesign allows for more space for advertisters, especially on mobile devices, which is where a lot of users view Facebook, Zuckerberg said.

Facebook is trying to adapt with phones, which have increased as a platform for people to use as if it was their computer. Social media sites and the web have become more common to access on the phone with the smartphones.

Zuckerberg said half of all posts on the News Feed now are pictures, up from 25 percent a year ago. The pictures will show up bigger in the new feed, he said.

Julie Zhou, head of design at the company, also said advertising formats would become more visual. NYT reported that Zhou said pictures and ads won't benefit from the new News Feed. "Everything across the board is going to get this richer, more immersive design," Zhou said at the conference.

The always-changing Facebook said this News Feed will be applied immediately, and soon for mobile apps everywhere.

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