Facebook’s Lindsey Shepard stands by the company’s latest news feed update, despite reports that users are sharing less about themselves on the platform.
“We actually send out thousands of surveys, really every single week, to hear from our community about things that are working for them, things that they love, and also things that honestly, we can be doing better,” the company’s Director of Product Marketing for News Feed, told Cheddar.
“What we’ve heard from people is that when they’re interacting with friends and family, when they’re having those thoughtful discussions and conversations, that feels like time well spent,” Shepard said.
The changes announced last week de-prioritize posts from publishers and brands in an effort to increase user engagement. While Facebook argues only pages with low engagement will be impacted, some outlets fear alienation, with the company even admitting users will spend less time on the platform.
The move may seem ironic given Facebook's recent push to get publishers to invest more heavily on content. But Shepherd isn't worried.
“What’s good for people, and what makes people really enjoy their Facebook experience, is really good for anyone that’s leveraging Facebook for their business."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/facebooks-lindsey-shepard-talks-the-news-feed-reboot).
Pfizer says a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine appears to offer important protection against the new omicron variant.
A Japanese billionaire and his producer rocketed to space on Wednesday and reached the International Space Station several hours later.
Hawaii Flooding, Beijing Boycott & Disrupting Death
With rising numbers of COVID-19 cases predicted this winter, President Joe Biden is appealing for Americans to get their boosters and get behind his plan to tackle the new omicron variant through wider availability of vaccines and shots.
The U.S. identified its first known case of the omicron variant Wednesday — in a vaccinated traveler returning to California from South Africa — as scientists around the world raced to establish whether the new, mutant version of the coronavirus is more dangerous than the previous ones.
A person in California has become the first in the U.S. to have an identified case of the omicron variant of COVID-19.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority is signaling it will uphold Mississippi’s 15-week ban on abortion — and may go much further to overturn the nationwide right to abortion that has existed for nearly 50 years.
The world is confronting a new coronavirus variant, and officials have named it “omicron." A World Health Organization panel has classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern.
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is spawning in an explosion of color as the World Heritage-listed natural wonder recovers from life-threatening coral bleaching episodes.
Climate change that may have contributed to a lobster boom in Maine could soon lead to a bust. Chloe Aiello reports.
