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Some interesting Facebook related posts that caught my eye, (note: I am not engaged with any of these sites, simply as I see or read I am sharing)

5 things social media editors should do when programming Facebook Media organizations, repeat after me: Facebook is not made for you. It may adapt somewhat to your presence, but ultimately it’s made for the 1 billion-plus people who are having a conversation on it. If you’re lucky, your story might sometimes be the topic of that conversation; if you’re smart, you’ll be engaged in the discussion, too. Here are five recommendations to help make that happen. [ED NOTE: a good solid read]

Facebook’s Trending topics shift from viral to corroborated news The Trending section will also add a publisher’s headline below each topic name, replacing a tally of how many people are talking about a topic that previously appeared in this spot. Finally, topics will no longer be personalized, but everyone in the same region will now be able to see the same topics.

Facebook boosts longer videos in algorithm change One of the signals Facebook uses to rank videos is percent completion and that signal previously unintentionally penalized longer videos. The revamped signal weights completion percentage more heavily the longer the video effectively removing the accidental penalty. One immediate consequence of the move is longer videos will be more likely to appear in news feeds and shorter videos could see a drop in news feed distribution, although Facebook said it expects the change to be slight.

Facebook is copying Instagram’s copy of Snapchat’s Stories It was only a matter of time. After copying Snapchat’s Stories on Instagram – and then improving on them – Facebook proper is now testing a Stories feature as well. It works pretty much exactly as on Instagram. Open up the Facebook app, and you’ll see a carousel of circular profile photos representing friends’ Stories above your News Feed. Like on Instagram and Snapchat, the Stories disappear after 24 hours, and you’re able to apply a myriad of filters and effects.

Facebook testing News Feed-like ads inside Messenger Ever on the lookout for new revenue streams, Facebook is pushing News Feed-like ads right on to your Messenger screen. Announced today, the test only affects users from Australia and Thailand, for now, but it’d be hard to imagine a scenario where this didn’t go worldwide after the kinks have been worked out. The new ads will appear the users’ most recent conversation. According to the announcement, users will have the option to hide or report ads that are irrelevant or offensive, and they’re designed not to interfere with your conversations.

Twitter starts showing search results by relevance, not reverse chronological order – Twitter is updating its search results so that tweets will be ranked based on relevance instead of by timeline, bringing search in line with what users have experienced on their timeline for the past 10 months. Based on early trials, the company claims there has been more engagement in search results and tweets, with more time spent using the service. In a blog post, senior software engineer for search quality Lisa Huang explained that while search results previously had been presented in reverse chronological order, “the most recent results may not be what the searchers are looking for.” She added that users “could be searching for popular tweets to engage with or to better understand context around the search query, and the most recent tweets are not necessarily best suited for that.

Infographic: How to reach each generation on social media – An infographic from Webpage FX makes the decision easier. It explains where Generation Z, millennials, Generation X and Baby Boomers spend their time online. You should invest in the channels your audiences use.

This weeks curated Learning Nuggets:

11 Examples of Facebook Ads That Actually Work (And Why) – One way to do just that is to create optimized Facebook Ads targeted at the right audience. Optimized ads can help you spend your PPC budget wisely and see a positive return on your investment. So, what does optimized Facebook advertising actually look like? If you’re looking for some great examples, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll quickly go over the three overarching formats for Facebook Ads: right column, desktop News Feed, and mobile News Feed. Then, we’ll show you eight different types of Facebook Ads, each with real-life examples — along with some insights into why that ad is so successful. But before we get to these examples, let’s discuss the four components of a good Facebook Ad (or any ad, really) regardless of its type …

Dunkin’ Donuts, Wendy’s and other brands sound off on what works in live streaming  – Live video has emerged as an important tool in the marketer’s arsenal. With streaming video expected to account for 82 percent of all internet traffic by 2020, according to Cisco’s June 2016 Visual Networking Index report, more brands are likely to take the leap. Here’s what they can keep in mind, according to brands that have already tested the waters: [ED NOTE: Must read]

25 ideas to squeeze out more time for content creation – Successful bloggers, YouTubers and podcasters have the same number of hours in a day as you. Everybody has equal opportunity to create content, but not everybody makes it a priority. The real question isn’t having the time, it’s whether you have the tenacity to do it—and keep doing it. I can’t bolster your determination, but I can provide 25 ideas and best practices to help you squeeze more content-producing productivity out of every hour:

Snapchat users cut short video ad views –  Some marketers aren’t pleased with viewability numbers for ads on Snapchat, according to Ad Age. The metric that stands out the most is that video ads on the app are viewed for less than 3 seconds on average. Part of the issue is that video ads run as interstitials in user Snap stories, leading many to simply tap through brand spots rather than engage. Snapchat argues that ads on the app are effective even with a short viewing time, pointing to eye-tracking studies that found ads on its platform get more attention than ads on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. Two-thirds of Snapchat ads also run with the sound on, unlike video ads on Facebook.

A Website That Gives You Points as It Spies on You – Welcome to the strange, creepy world of clickclickclick.click. (That’s a URL. Go ahead! Click!) When you arrive, you’re asked to turn on the sound. That’s so a quiet man’s voice with a European lilt can encourage and taunt you as you click around. The setting: nothing but a big green button and a scrolling background of text cataloguing your achievements. Big achievements these are not. You’ll get points for clicking the button five times fast, or moving your cursor in a straight line, or making the browser window as big as possible. Poke around for 30 seconds and the site seems silly. Stay a little longer and the absurdity starts to mean something. The site is showcase of the ways, big and small, your browser can be used to spy on you. It turns the browser window into a circus ring, and asks you to perform flips to rack up meaningless points. For the curious and obsessive (me), it’s impossible to click away.

5 Mistakes Employees Make When Challenging the Status Quo – It’s time for companies to embrace their rebel talent as a way to foster innovation, employee engagement, and change from within. But what happens when a brave employee decides to challenge organizational conformity and offer new ideas that she sincerely believes would improve operations, before the company has embraced the idea of rebel talent? She’s often on her own, making it up as she goes along, often tripping over organizational potholes and stepping on cultural landmines.

3 ways to make your videos sizzle instead of fizzle – Most corporate videos are boring and creatively bankrupt. These duds include talking-head videos, tired product demos and pandering customer testimonials. It’s no wonder they evaporate quickly into the online mist. Here are three steps for creating videos worth watching: