Facebook's 'Subscribe' Button: 5 Things You Need To Know

Forget "friending": a new feature from Facebook now lets users "subscribe" to one another's updates.

In a blog post published Wednesday, Facebook announced that it would begin rolling out the "subscribe button," a tool that offers users a new way to interact with one another, as well as more of a say over the information that appears in their News Feeds.

"Our mission is to connect people and help them share. The goal of this new feature really is to give people more control over how they do that," Naomi Gleit, Facebook's director of product, told the Huffington Post.

As we wrote here, the just-announced setting, which lets Facebook operate more like Twitter by enabling people to "follow" public figures, could have important effects on etiquette, sharing, and the way people connect on Facebook.

Facebook will begin rolling out the "subscribe" button to all users starting September 14.

We've put together a guide to five key things you need to know about the "subscribe" button. Check them out, then tell us what you think of the new feature in the comments below.

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Comments

[Ole Sarge]

10:17 AM on 09/23/2011

Facebook is the "Identity Thief's" playground!

[Mary Crays]

10:28 PM on 09/22/2011

i like facebook the way it was

[moreover]

11:09 PM on 09/21/2011

How about every time I hit the Like button a Tea Party member steps in dog poo?

[moreover]

11:08 PM on 09/21/2011

How 'bout a free Cafe Mocha every time I log onto Facebook?

[GregoryJ123]

11:21 AM on 09/16/2011

Each time Facebook makes changes they reset your privacy settings to PUBLIC and you have to fix it all over again including the sending emails for the most minute thing. Hate that. I stay on my status update and get out.... Get a top Facebook status here..
http://tips21.com/top-facebook-status.html

[I think therefore I am]

12:08 PM on 09/16/2011

hate it when they do that tooo,,,,

[polson]

09:23 AM on 09/16/2011

What I want is one Facebook account and the ability to keep one group of friends completely unknown to the other. For example, a total of 200 friends. Group A of 150 can, in the picture list at the left hand side of the screen, see all 200. Group B of 50 can only see their own group of 50.
Is there any way this is possible??????

[Sidharth Khattri]

10:31 PM on 09/15/2011

Also, Learn How to Control the Frequency of Facebook Email Alerts:
http://www.ubertechblog.com/2011/09/adjust-frequency-of-facebook-email.html

[GregoryJ123]

11:23 AM on 09/16/2011

You right! I hate that they re-set those settings each time they upgrade Facebook! You have to sit there and individually uncheck each box. ANNOYING FB! Grrr...

[Dante in Madison]

09:19 PM on 09/15/2011

"Once you've opted in to add a "subscribe" button to your profile, you won't be able to vet your subscribers--anyone will be able to choose to follow and see your public updates, and you won't be asked to approve them one by one. That is, as Facebook explains, "when you hide or decline a friend request, that person can still subscribe to your public updates if you have allowed subscribers."

That's total b.s. You should have TOTAL control over your entire profile--including who can and cannot subscribe to your Feeds.

[Sidharth Khattri]

08:53 PM on 09/15/2011

Wanna know how to post more than 500 characters in your Facebook Status?
http://www.ubertechblog.com/2011/09/post-more-than-500-characters-in-your.html

[JackTheSkipper]

08:02 PM on 09/15/2011

F..K the F

[Keyop]

06:44 PM on 09/15/2011

FB is sooo 2010.... next.

[KennebunkportIndependent]

05:26 PM on 09/15/2011

Facebook??

What is that??

[ProudToBeVeryLiberal]

05:24 PM on 09/15/2011

This is a great scheme for the corporate world to spy on your lifestyle and buying habits without even bothering to pretend to be your friend.

One more reason I don't have a FB account and never will.

[KennebunkportIndependent]

05:27 PM on 09/15/2011

I would never trust my personal data to anyone named Zuckerberg.

[agro23]

07:00 PM on 09/15/2011

Or they'll just use cookies on your browser. You can't hide.

[ProudToBeVeryLiberal]

07:34 PM on 09/15/2011

There are many ways to automatically flush cookies so that every time you log onto a certain website you appear as a first-time comer, and no information is retrieved from your computer. I certainly don't mind re-entering my password every time in exchange for knowing I beat_them at their own game.

[Ponderus]

05:23 PM on 09/15/2011

"Facebook's 'Subscribe' Button: 5 Things You Need To Know..."

HaichPea still pimpin'.

[KennebunkportIndependent]

05:27 PM on 09/15/2011

HayHoeEll wants a baleout from Fasebuk.

[Matt Chernesky]

05:10 PM on 09/15/2011

I honestly don't understand the point of only adding people you're friends with. There are hundreds of millions of users on Facebook and if you don't want to be friends with someone, just reject their friend request. The point of Facebook is to improve and expand your friend "base". I mean, I have friends from Europe and Australia and South America and it's wonderful learning about their cultures and languages. I mean, Facebook is just a far more improved version of having a pen pal.