Facebook apes Twitter with launch of trending topics

Nishtha Kanal|Jan 17, 2014, 10:38:31 IST

After months of testing, Facebook is finally rolling out a trending topics column for its website. The column will be available to users in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and India, and will be available to all users soon. Stepping onto Twitter’s territory yet again, Facebook is now displaying what the world is talking about on the website. Unlike Twitter, though, Facebook will have a short description of why people are talking about the topic. Ironically, the short summaries are almost like tweets on Facebook. When you click on a particular topic that catches your fancy, you will be able to check out posts about it that people and pages have shared about it with you or have posted with settings turned on to public. For example, Michael Schumacher is currently trending on Facebook, owing to the delicate condition he is in post his skiing accident. You will be able to see posts your friends have written about him, posts pages have made and other people too. The effect is essentially the same as clicking on a hashtag on Facebook. The Twitter connection here is undeniable. Facebook seems intent on going the real-time news way, stepping into Twitter’s comfort zone. In the past, Facebook had tweaked its News Feed algorithm to surface relevant news stories. It also introduced measures like hashtags and verified profiles too. With the trending topics column, Facebook is nearing complete transformation. Facebook’s obsession with news is also continuing into the New Year, as rumours are rife that the social network is hoping to release a news-aggregation app like Flipboard. The app is supposed to be called Paper and will lay emphasis on news reading with attractive images dotting the pages. This trending topics column may just be setting the stage for Paper. One other difference between Facebook’s and Twitter’s trending topics are that you can not purchase sponsored trends on the former like you can on the micro-blogging website, but we’re guessing it’s only a matter of time before you will be able to. If you’re not seeing the trending column yet, you may have to wait a bit since it’s a phased rollout and will reach all users soon.

By Nishtha Kanal

Intrigued by all things social, Nishtha will invariably tweet about you. When not tweeting or writing about the next viral video, you will hear her proclaiming her love to Metallica, James Hetfield, Opeth, Akerfeldt and all bands that go 'growl'. She also obsesses about ACP Pradyuman and South Park and you will always find her moving around with a book. Her focus is on all the happening stuff in the tech domain, and she won't hesitate to take a shot at some of the oddball devices that make their way to our labs.