Is Your News Feed Taking You For A Ride?

Are you puzzled as you scroll through your Facebook news feed, wondering why you’re seeing incessant updates from a Facebook friend who’s really not that good a friend? Frustrated at the myriad posts from a group you never participate in, and crickets from the pages you follow?

Yeah, Facebook updated their news feed algorithm again. The objective of this change, according to Chairman Mark Zuckerberg, is to “encourage meaningful interactions between people” making it “good for people’s well-being.”

Grandiose aspirations or good intentions aside, it’s your news feed — shouldn’t you get to sit behind the wheel?

Regardless of your preferred social platform, news feed algorithm changes are today’s reality —  and we have no choice but to adapt. However, determining what you deem a meaningful interaction — and managing your well-being — should be up to you. It’s time to wrench back control.

Re-claiming the driver’s seat

First and foremost, stop relying on your news feed. Doing so is relinquishing control, passively allowing the platform to feed you whatever content they determine is good for you.

Let’s take a step back a decade or so, when the daily newspaper was delivered to your front steps before dawn. A designated part of each day would be dedicated to perusing the paper, a sensory experience often intensified by the aroma of home-brewed coffee percolating on the countertop. Consuming the weekend paper, with extra sections, magazine and coupon inserts, was a ritual of its own.

Traditions aside, the newspaper was an open book of sorts; the selection of what to read was your decision. Turning first to the section of your particular interest — world and national news, arts, sports, local news, business or health/science, you could read articles on related topics, gaining understanding and perspective on a subject. While a skimmer might read only one or two stories in a section, their choice would be made following an assessment of the whole of the section’s content.

The shift to today’s newsfeed is a double whammy — you don’t get to choose which articles to read, and you can’t even select the sections of the paper you prefer. Moreover, the erratic sequence of unrelated content can be unsettling. It’s far cry from the days of absorbing the news.

Create your own personalized news algorithm

Rather than conceding your information intake to the news feed authorities, take back control by setting up processes to see updates from people and pages that you value. A bit more cumbersome than simply scrolling through your news feed, perhaps, but not as challenging as neatly turning pages of a newspaper on a windy day.

Try these approaches to capture the most relevant– and meaningful — information for you.

• Twitter: Create lists to follow people, companies or causes that you are interested in. Twitter lists allow you to cull out the topics of most significance to you and organize content in a way that’s relevant and consumable. From world news to sports, health and science to technology, using lists is almost like reading sections of the newspaper. Related content is served up in a cohesive way.

• Hootsuite: Perhaps your preferred information sources aren’t aficionados of Twitter. Hootsuite enables you to create content streams in a variety of platforms based on keyword phrases you choose. Create and add searches in Hootsuite on topics of relevance to you. As you review your content streams, the information is cogent and contextual.

• Facebook: While the ability to customize your newsfeed is limited, you can designate some pages that you wish to prioritize. Navigating to a business Facebook page that you follow, simply hover over the “Following” button to expose the drop-down menu, and select See First. According to Facebook Help, up to 30 accounts may be selected in this manner.

• Google alerts (or Bing, Yahoo or your search engine of choice): Create daily or weekly alerts for keyword phrases relevant to your industry. You’ll receive regular emails with a variety of related links, allowing you to assess each article’s source before deciding whether to click through and delve more deeply into your chosen topic.

Okay, you’re back in control. Adjust the mirrors, fasten your seatbelt and take charge. Leave the mindless news feed scrolling in the dust.