When Facebook introduced its redesigned News Feed, it did more than change how people view memes and photos of cats — it altered the way stories are seen. Now everyone can make news. But for those who make a living by spreading news, Facebook has changed the way stories are presented. Dean Praetorius, a senior editor with The Huffington Post, talked with AllFacebook about how the way news is presented on Facebook requires some changes to the traditional approach.
Lisa Raphael (left), the social media producer at Katie Couric's daytime talk show Katie, is one of our featured speakers in Mediabistro's upcoming Social Media Marketing Boot Camp, an online event and workshop starting June 6, 2013. Lisa will share a case study on how the hit show uses Twitter to build interest and buzz around upcoming segments. Learn more about our our twelve event speakers and register here. 
Maybe Co-Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s comparison of News Feed to a personalized newspaper wasn’t too far off. According to the Pew Research Center’s State of the News Media 2013 report, Facebook is a key way that news outlets such as The Huffington Post, The Daily Mail, and Yahoo reach their readers. The report notes that major U.S. news sites get an average of 9 percent of their traffic from Facebook, compared with 4 percent when measured 15 months ago.
Two of the most popular topics in 2012 were the Summer Olympic Games in London and the U.S. presidential election. People on Facebook talked about both quite a bit, so it’s not shocking that U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps’ biggest sponsor (Subway) and Fox News were among the most popular Facebook pages of 2012, according to a study by the Track Social Blog.
Not long after the initial shocked reaction in the wake of a deadly mass-shooting Friday in Connecticut, several Facebook users posted a statement from actor Morgan Freeman, pleading with the media to stop using the shooter’s name. While the sentiment is heartfelt and valid, it apparently did not come from Freeman.
In the 24 hours since the video of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at a Florida fundraiser went public, Facebook and social media channels have lit up with feedback about the “47 percent” Romney seems to dismiss.
Thursday night’s CNN Republican presidential primary debate in South Carolina will be the last debate that Facebook users can react to before voters goes to the polls on Saturday. And Facebook is already awash in comments ahead of the duel.
We highly doubt this particular rumor would ever come true, but the blogosphere and Twitterverse are chattering that Facebook could pull the plug in protest over the Stop Online Piracy Act pending in the U.S. Congress.
Is the last GOP presidential primary debate — before the first votes of the 2012 elections are cast next month — a boon to the candidates’ popularity on Facebook?
Some 51 percent of social media users have posted political messages on their Facebook wall, yet only about one-third (36 percent) have changed their mind on an issue based on the political content a friend posted on social media.
The Fox News Facebook page got over 8,000 death threats posted on its wall after the Communications Director for the American Atheists, Blair Scott, appeared on the network discussing the group’s lawsuit hoping to stop the erection of a crucifix at the World Trade Center Memorial.
