Facebook joins Twitter with trending topics
1/17/2014NEW YORK — In a move that echoes Twitter, Facebook is adding a feature to its service that lets users know the topics of discussion that are trending among the site’s 1.2 billion users, whether it’s the death of a world leader or the Oscars.
Users in the United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada, and Australia will begin seeing a list of trending topics on the right side of their Facebook pages in coming weeks.
Trending topics won’t be available on the mobile version of Facebook, but the company said it is testing the feature in its app for smartphones and tablet computers.
Facebook, which signaled last year that it would introduce trending topics at some point, said the topics people see will be tailored to user’s interests and location.
Unlike Twitter, which simply lists topics, Facebook’s trending section explains why a particular topic is trending.
Chris Stuhar, a software engineer at Facebook who works on the site’s news feed, said the feature is designed to uncover the most interesting content across the site.
Also Thursday, Facebook and NBC announced a deal to share content on the upcoming Winter Olympics, both hoping to boost interest on what promises to be a big event for social media.
Facebook wants to establish itself as the place to have those conversations.