Facebook Changes The Game By Introducing The "Subscribe" Button

In the battle of social networks, Facebook is king with over 700 million users. This huge number means that you now know that your second grade teacher loves margaritas, your mom thinks that cat video you liked is funny, and your BF considers himself single (wait, what?!). It also means that any changes to the service are going to matter to you and your friends.

Which brings us to the newly announced “Subscribe” button. As you might have heard, yesterday Facebook introduced the button saying: 

“Until now, it hasn't been easy to choose exactly what you see in your News Feed. Maybe you don't want to see every time your brother plays a game on Facebook, for example. Or maybe you'd like to see more stories from your best friends, and fewer from your coworkers. You also couldn't hear directly from people you're interested in but don't know personally — like journalists, artists and political figures. With the Subscribe button, we're making it easier to do both.“

What does this mean to you?

The addition of the Subscribe button means you’re going to have more control over the news you're delivered on Facebook. This is great news if you’re sick of seeing posts from the random HS girl who nominated you as the #14 Best Looking person in their network. It also means that you’ve got another tool at your disposal if you’re repping yourself, since your adoring fans – both current and future – will now have a way to make sure that all of your incredibly important status updates go straight to the top of their feed. Win.

Now, you’re probably thinking, “Ok, I get what it does Global Grind, but what do you think… should I try this feature out or not?!”  Excellent question! So excellent in fact, we thought it best to give you a breakdown of the pros & cons and let you decide for yourself. It’s your profile after all. 

Top 3 Reasons you should try the subscribe button:

1. You spend at least one hour a day checking that special someone’s relationship status. With the subscribe button you’ll be sure you find out right away when they lose ol' girl and are ready for something better.
2. People tell you constantly that they wish their news feed had ONLY your news in it. When you add the subscribe button to your profile you’re giving the people what they’re asking for!
3. You are Amber Rose, Diggy Simmons, a Kardashian and/or you are obsessed with one (or all) of these folk. With the subscribe button you can be sure you know what’s really good right away when it comes to your favorite celeb.

Top 3 Reasons you should avoid the subscribe button:

1. You have a stalker. Seriously. If you have a real-life stalker don’t add the subscribe button because you have no control over who subscribes to you.
2. You only signed-up for Facebook to use Farmville. Sadly, the Subscribe button has nothing to do with Farmville and it won’t help your crops.
3. You just started to understand how Facebook works. Since the Subscribe button will mean that your news feed isn’t only about your friends, that’ll change things for you. And since adding the Subscribe button means anyone can see your updates, you will no longer have total control over your profile. Sure, you can target who gets to see each update, but it’s an added layer. Just sayin.

The Verdict:

Unless you fall under one of the three reasons above check it out. You can easily shut it off if you don’t like it, and no one is forcing you to subscribe to anyone else’s profile. For instructinos on how to add this button to your profile, and more information about the feature, click here.