14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook is going a bit more real-time as a couple of new features seem to indicate. The social network has quietly introduced real-time comments which are updated as soon as someone posts one without having to refresh the page. Facebook has also rolled out real-time post insights for page administrators.
Facebook hasn't made any formal announcements, but some users started noticing that comments are now updated automatically, in near real-time, making the conversation a lot more dynamic. Previously, users had to reload the page to see new comments.
The real-time comments now stream in as soon as they are created. While there still is a slight delay, depending on many factors some unrelated to Facebook, it is possible to treat the comments section more like Facebook chat than ever.
The update is a small one, but one that should prove quite significant in the amount of time people spend on the site. Rather than having to wait for Facebook notifications or stumbling on new comments from time to time, as you visited the site, new content now comes in as soon as it is available.
This not only makes people stick around for longer, since they know comments should be coming in faster, it also encourages users to reply as soon as a new comment hits, knowing that the reply will be seen in a manner of seconds.
The system is very similar to FriendFeed comments. FriendFeed was acquired by Facebook and the team is now working on various products for the social network.
Facebook has also introduced real-time post insights. Stats are now available as soon as a post is published, rather than several hours later as before.
There is also more information than before, besides the number of views and the feedback rate, Insights also displays click-through rates and likes. However, some users are complaining that the new feature is rather buggy and inaccurate, so perhaps Facebook still has some work to do.