Facebook users on Wednesday took to complaining about changes intended to make it easier to manage the torrents of updates from friends at the world’s largest social network. People vented ire in an array of online venues including a “Petition against the new Facebook homepage” at the social network and a Twitter stream tagged “#NewFacebook”. Some lamented that the latest Facebook changes were moves to be more like rival Google+ and hot text-message-based news-sharing service Twitter. “#NewFacebook is like America,” one Twitter user commented. “Plenty of people discontent(ed), but it’s not like anyone is actually going to leave.” Facebook users are known for complaining fiercely about changes to the service but then adapting and sticking with the online community.
The backlash came a morning after Facebook began rolling out the latest in a rapid-fire series of enhancements in what founder Mark Zuckerberg referred to as a “launching season” for new features. Facebook’s “News Feed” that streams updates from friends now gives priority to important posts, images shared at the website are displayed larger, and a “Ticker” chat column was added for real-time conversations. In recent weeks, Facebook has focused on ways for members to better control what information gets shared with whom.