Facebook is working on getting a feature added to its social networking site which would be an addition to the current Friend List feature. The tested feature is named Smart List and would be used to share content with only a few specified friends and there is even an option to filter the content from this friend circle only in the News Feed.
The testing for Smart Lists has even started and like any other testing service of Facebook would be only for a few selected users on Facebook. As the name implies, Smart Lists are an intelligently-grouped compilation of one’s Facebook friends.
The two major uses one can derive out of these lists are that one can share content with a defined friend circle and the News Feed would even be filtered accordingly. One can create a list manually or even opt for one which will be created from the drop-down menu placed at the bottom right of the “What’s on your mind?” status box.
Nick Starr, a website developer was the first to notice this feature and to let others know, he even tweeted it via his Twitter account for the blogosphere to know about it. The screenshot posted below would detail one about the change. For more screenshots, one can visit Mashable. Talking about the tweet, Nick had a few mentions which followed the actual news:
@benparr @parislemon @grg Facebook adding smart friend lists… pic.twitter.com/dvoDgzQ
This tweet might not be really enough for one to understand the screenshot, so posted below are a few official details which have been concluded on from the screenshot along with what actual friend list differs on:
Smart Lists
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You also have smart lists that update themselves for coworkers, classmates, and local friends. You can add or remove anyone to these lists at any time.
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Coworker icon) This will be a list of friends who work with you.
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(Classmate icon) This will be a list of friends who attend school with you.
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(Local icon) This will be a list of people who live within 50 miles of your current city.
A Friend list on the other hand is even underutilized by the Facebook users. A handful of users actually make use of the Friend List to a great extent. To brief in a few details:
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A quick way to organize friends so you can control what you see in your News Feed and post updates for specific people.
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Close Friends are trusted friends you want to hear from frequently.
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Acquaintances are people you want to see less of in News Feed.
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Restricted is a list of friends you never want to share with.
The ignorance of these features might be a reason because of which Facebook is opting to let user’s attention directed to these lists.
The change looks to be a clear answer for Google+ Circles which has been one of the biggest plus points for Google+. The hack for Circles was built by four Facebook engineers two months ago. This hack would let a Facebook user create friend lists as one does with the help of Google+ Circles. Seems like Facebook knows very well what their competitors are best at and where they are better than Facebook. These competitor plus points are taken up by Facebook and have been able to come up with an improvement on those products and services.