It seems like every time I log into Facebook, there’s a new change and people are complaining about it. The change may affect how users view photos, the information displayed on their profiles, or what their News Feeds look like. But when Facebook changes privacy settings, that’s a much bigger deal.
It’s understandable that people get upset over their privacy, especially with a site like Facebook, where people put up so much personal 
information. But the newest Facebook feature, the Subscribe button, may actually put people at ease.
The Subscribe button is another feature that could possibly make Facebook more like other social networks like Twitter and Google Plus. Twitter and G+ both allow you to follow someone without them following you. Facebook friending, however, has always been reciprocal. Two people friended each other, and they each saw the others’ posts.
But the reciprocal model has drawbacks. You may want to see someone’s posts, but they don’t necessarily want to see yours. Enter the Subscribe button.
The Subscribe button will allow Facebook users to subscribe to someone’s public posts without necessarily being friends with them. This will be helpful for people in the public eye, such as celebrities and journalists, who obviously cannot “friend” everyone, especially with Facebook’s limit on the number of friends a user can have.
Before you start worrying that random and possibly dangerous people are going to subscribe to your feed, know that it is completely opt-in. You must first allow subscribers through Facebook settings. But don’t worry, you can subscribe to other people without allowing subscribers on your own page. And once you’ve allowed subscribers, they only see the posts you’ve made public.
The Subscribe button also allows you to fine-tune your News Feed. If you are friends with someone, you are subscribed to their updates, and can control how much of your friends’ updates you see. You can choose to see all updates, most updates, or “Only Important” updates (don’t ask me how they determine what is important in other peoples’ lives). You can also specify what kind of updates to receive, such as status updates, life events, photos and video, and games.
The ability to fine-tune your News Feed is what I like most about the Subscribe button. Paired with the new friends lists, Facebook users can have different types of friendships, just as you do in real life.
Will you use the Subscribe button, either to control your News Feed or to find new people?
Tags: Facebook, facebook privacy issues
