When a page administrator opens the expandable app tab in the timeline they will see all available apps including the photo and notes tabs. This can be deceiving, as a general user will not see all of these tabs. When a user selects the drop down menu to expand the tabs they will only see the first twelve tabs including photos and notes. This means if you are having an app live on one of the tabs below the first twelve, you as an admin will see it, but no one else will have access to it.
Facebook has increased the size of the “recent activity box” and added a new “recently” used apps” box. With the increased size of the recent activity box stories now have a larger thumbnail next to them. Making the stories more visual, may encourage users to click on them and certainly will make them more noticeable. In addition to the changes to the recent activity box Facebook has also added an apps box. This box displays apps that a user has recently interacted with in a clear and prominent fashion. This should help users discover new apps that their friends have used.
Yet another new feature of the Timeline format for pages is a moderation tool that allows brands to approve wall posts before they’re posted. When this feature is turned on, a page admin will have to approve any incoming wall posts. This can be useful for brands that have a problem with people spamming their walls or posting inflammatory or offensive content on their walls. However for smaller brands or brands that do not receive a lot of traffic on their wall enabling this feature may be a waste of time.
In order to enable the moderation feature, click the admin tool select edit page, then under manage permissions select “only show show posts by (your page) and friend activity on your page until reviewed by an admin.
It should be noted that this filter does not affect friend activity or comments on previously published page posts.
Facebook’s developers blog announced that they would be implementing more actions within the app format. Users will now have the ability to perform actions that are currently associated with page posts within an app. Users will have the ability to add friends, locations or share photos without leaving the app.
Developers will also be able to create apps that will display user generated photos or videos in the news feed or Timeline.
Facebook has introduced a new feature: Interests. This will allow users to group pages and public figures in to an interest list. By doing this users will be able to filter the Newsfeed by a selected topic. Users will be able to create their own lists or to subscribe to friends lists.
Although users have been able to organize friends in lists for a long time, this is the first time that they will be able to organize pages. After a user adds an interest, the most relevantstories from that topic will be displayed at the top of their Newsfeed with a link to read more posts.
This new feature may be able to improve a brand’s exposure. With the ability to subscribe to a friends interest list it, in theory could mean that brands will reach a wider audience. It would also mean that users could be exposed to brand’s posts without having to like or subscribe to the page.