Updated Facebook Trending Algorithm

Aidan MeyerLexie Slavin

Rachel WorkstelDarby Malkin

The Algorithm

- Facebook fired human editors

- Personalized content

- High volume of mentions

- Spike in mentions

How Trending Works

How Trending Works

Condé Nast video site: The Scene

Create a universal “Most Popular / Latest” Sidebar- Promote stories on different sites

- Use the algorithm to create headlines

- Pair with similar publications

Potential BuzzFeed Adaptations

- Buy algorithm from Facebook

- Unlikely unless the algorithm keeps having problems

Potential BuzzFeed Adaptations

- Content Analysis- Predict how their own articles go viral

- Adapt their analysis around how other articles are trending

Potential BuzzFeed Adaptations

- “BuzzFeed’s innovation doesn’t have anything to do with how content is posted, it’s about how that content is tracked across the multiple sites, platforms, and services through which it is distributed” (Ingram, fortune.com)

If they are already tracking it...begin to analyze it for the purpose of getting it trending on Facebook.

Can BuzzFeed Leverage FB Trending Algorithm?

- Key components within algorithm

- Cater to spiked interest

Is it Disruptive?

Yes

Represents a shift in how information is consumed

Works CitedConde Nast. (2016). Brands/Media Kits. Retrieved September 13, 2016 from http://condenast.com/brands

Griffin, A. (2016, August 30). Facebook trending topics news editors fired, leading fake news and masturbation stories fill news feed. Retrieved September 13, 2016 from http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-trending-topics-news-editors-fired-leading-fake-news-and-masturbation-stories-fill-news-a7216721.html

Ingram, M. (2016, February 15). The real secret to BuzzFeed’s success isn’t cat GIFs, it’s data. Retrieved September 13, 2016 from http://fortune.com/2016/02/16/buzzfeed-data/

Ohlheiser, A. (2016, August 29). Three days after removing human editors, Facebook is already trending fake news. Retrieved September 13, 2016 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/08/29/a-fake-headline-about-megyn-kelly-was-trending-on-facebook

Wagner, K. (2015, August 21). How Facebook decides what’s trending. Retrieved September 13, 2016 from http://www.recode.net/2015/8/21/11617880/how-facebook-decides-whats-trending

Thank you!