Good Question: Is The New Facebook Better?

By Christy Strawser
CBS Detroit Managing Editor
Pity Mark Zuckerberg. His social media juggernaut Facebook launched yet another redesign Wednesday, on the cusp of what is rumored to be a major redesign.

And the world's largest social media site -- with 750 million users at last count -- was flooded with harsh criticism and complaints.

Wednesday's changes include a news ticker on the upper right side that constantly updates based on a new algorithm. Instead of defaulting to your friends' most recent posts, the feed is now topped by whatever Facebook predicts you'll find most interesting.  It's fed by an algorithm that combines  factors like the friends you interact with most often, and which friends' posts have the most comments and "likes" on them.

A new "subscribe" button lets people choose how often specific friends' updates appear in your news feed. And, a new lists function automatically populates something called the "smart list" with updates Facebook thinks you'll find useful.

"(They) create themselves and stay up-to-date based on profile info your friends have in common with you--like your work, school, family and city," according to the official explanation on Facebook.

The verdict? The official post explaining the page on the official Facebook page garnered nearly 30,000 comments.

And nearly all of them were uncomplimentary, ranging from "the new and improved Facebook sucks" to "the new layout is the worst."

Developer Mark Tonkelowitz posted an item on the official Facebook blog explaining the new feature.

"When you pick up a newspaper after not reading it for a week, the front page quickly clues you into the most interesting stories. In the past, News Feed hasn't worked like that.  Updates slide down in chronological order so it's tough to zero in on what matters most," he wrote.

"Now, News Feed will act more like your own personal newspaper. You won't have to worry about missing important stuff."

A cartoon seemingly went viral on Facebook in the wake of the changes. It features a man at a computer with a caption that says, "I am appalled that the free service that I am in no way obligated to use keeps making changes that mildly inconvenience me."

At least, if all else fails, it gives users something to write about on Facebook.