The feature has been in testing for several months and it hasn't been loved by users

Sep 21, 2011 13:04 GMT  ·  By
The Facebook Ticker brings real time updates, but it hasn't been a fan favorite among Facebook users that were part of the initial tests
   The Facebook Ticker brings real time updates, but it hasn't been a fan favorite among Facebook users that were part of the initial tests

Facebook has debuted a revamp of the News Feed, arguably the most important feature on the site. It now merges both Top Stores and Recent Updates in a way that makes sense for both frequent users and those who rarely visit the site.

Along with the redesigned news feed though, Facebook also debuted a feature that's been in testing for several months now, the real-time updates sidebar, or Facebook Ticker by its new official name.

"Until now, there hasn't been an easy way to see and chat with your friends about photos, articles, and other things they're posting in real-time. The new ticker helps you do just that," Facebook explained.

Facebook Ticker is a real-time feed of all the activity on the site, when a friend likes something, it shows up instantly in the feed, when someone makes a comment, you gen an immediate notification.

The recent stories in the news feed update quite frequently already, but the Ticker is truly real-time. For Facebook power users, it looks like a cool feature.

"Ticker shows you the same stuff you were already seeing on Facebook, but it brings your conversations to life by displaying updates instantaneously. Now when a friend comments, asks a question or shares something like a check in, you'll be able to join the conversation right away," Facebook added.

Therein lies the problem though, many people don't want to be constantly flooded with updates, especially when they see the same content in the news feed.

During testing, which have been going on for months and for good reason, many people hated the feature and they didn't mince word about how much.

The feature was dubbed Happening Now during testing. Those that found themselves unwilling Guinea pigs were not happy of not being able to get rid of the annoying feature.

If the Softpedia comments section is any indication of just how popular the feature will prove, get ready for yet another wave of outrage from Facebook users.

This too will pass, just like all of the other times Facebook has enraged some users, but it remains to be seen if the Facebook Ticker will finally be adopted by users or whether the critics will pile up.