Facebook tests topics, allowing users to converse around specific themes
Facebook is testing out a feature that lets post authors select a "topic" of their choosing.
Spotted: Facebook is working on testing a new feature that lets users converse around topics and themes of their choosing. If you’re one of the few people this test applies to, you’ll see an option to add a topic to your post as seen below:
The topic option doesn’t appear when creating a post, only when editing an existing one, in our testing. If you click on the topics, assuming this rolls out to more users, you’ll be able to select from a list that isn’t as empty as the list below:
A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the test is live, stating “People have told us they’d like more options on Facebook to see and have conversations about specific topics they’re interested in. So we’re testing giving people the option to choose a topic tag for the type of post you’re sharing.”
With topics, post privacy settings will be maintained; topics will be restricted to the audience the poster has limited the post to. Topics appear to be similar to hashtags, giving users the ability to post to the news feed but will not affect prioritization of any type, and that includes any potential impacts on publishers, Pages, and advertisers. For now, it appears to give users the ability to search among conversations, which is something Facebook appears to be trying to do more of.
This feature will be refined and iterated upon based on user reaction.
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