In September, Facebook altered its EdgeRank algorithm and users began to see fewer Page posts in their News Feeds. Backlash from brands, Page owners and their fans was almost immediate. Soon after, "Interest Lists" started getting a lot of attention. Recently, you may have even seen posts from Pages asking fans to add the Page to their Interest Lists.
Last week, Inside Facebook published a story announcing a new feature for fans who don't want to miss out on their favorite brands' updates. It's similar to the "close friends" feature for personal profiles and allows users to opt-in to receive notifications from brand Pages. So, for instance, if a user goes to ShortStack's Facebook Page, hovers over the "Liked" button and selects "Get Notifications," they will receive a Facebook notification every time ShortStack publishes a Status Update.
The major difference between Interest Lists and "Get Notifications" is that Interest Lists primarily help users customize the content they see most in their News Feeds; whereas "Get Notifications" helps users make sure they never miss a Page's posts.
Although adding the Get Notifications feature helps, there's still opposition from Facebook users. Hugh Briss of Social Identities created a petition on Change.org to make EdgeRank an option for users- a solution that would give users complete control over the content they see in their News Feeds. It's a controversial idea that seems to be overwhelmingly accepted by Facebook users, yet ignored by Facebook.