AP FILE PHOTO
SAN FRANCISCO– Facebook on Thursday began weaving hot topics into profile pages as it ramped up its challenge to Twitter as an online forum for tuning into current events.
The leading online social network began adding a “Trending” feature that identifies topics spiking in popularity and then displays them next to the News Feed on profile pages.
“The list is personalized, including topics based on things you’re interested in and what is trending across Facebook overall,” engineering manager Chris Struhar said in a blog post.
“You can click on any headline to see the most interesting posts from your friends or (Facebook) Pages that are talking about that particular topic.”
The trending feature was being added to the Facebook website in “select countries” for members using desktop or laptop computers and being tested on mobile devices, where screen space is more precious.
Facebook has been working to be a preferred venue for real-time exchanges about the latest happenings, a niche dominated by Twitter.