Facebook's Latest News Feed Tweak Gives Priority To Close Friends

Facebook is planning yet another News Feed tweak, this one targeting content in general rather than just the video changes announced days ago. The social network is about to make things a bit more personal with an adjustment to the content users see in their respective feeds; priority will be given to posts from people who (probably) matter most to you.

Facebook has, at various times in its past, been criticized for News Feed adjustments that some users felt prioritized content from Pages and brands over the people they were most interested in hearing from. The company has made a number of adjustments over the years, some more popular than others, and today it announced yet another one.

This time around, Facebook said in its announcement, the News Feed change will make things more personal by prioritizing the people Facebook thinks you're friends with and by prioritizing links that users 'might consider most worthwhile.'

Facebook explains that it uses a number of methods for trying to determine which people and content its users might be most interested in. The two new ranking adjustments are based, in part, on surveys the company said it previously conducted with its users. How will Facebook prioritize the people you actually want to hear from?

By simply asking. In addition to the signals it has already used to determine who you like the most — things like which people you interact with most often — Facebook has started surveying its users about which friends they are closest to. Using this information, the company identified patterns to help it make these determinations on its own, feeding all of that into the system that ultimately dictates what you, the user, gets to see.

The end result, according to Facebook, will be the presence of posts from people you care about the most located higher in your feed. In addition, the News Feed will be updated to better present the content Facebook thinks its users care about the most.