26 February 2010 | Author: O. Gaywood Media Optimiser

Facebook gets news feed patent

Facebook has been awarded a patent for something that may change the way many social media networks run.

After filing a patent in August 2006, Mark Zuckerberg and friends have received the paperwork granting them the copyright for "dynamically providing a news feed about a user of a social network."

When Facebook first brought in its news feed, it was seen to be a worrying thing that would make it easier for users to 'Facebook stalk' pieces of their fancy. Now, though, it seems to be a commonly used feature on social networking sites that allows friends to keep up to date with what each other are doing.

The patent is not thought to cover aspects such as status updates - as used on the hugely popular Twitter - but more the amalgamation of various different activities a user has been partaking in (such as playing Farmville all day).

The main sticking point with this in the media is the thought that Facebook was not the first site to be doing this. Twitter was launched a couple of months before Facebook put in its patent request, while Flickr had been giving updates on user activities for years before Facebook tried it.

What Facebook's intentions are remains unknown. Some see it as a defensive move to stop others claiming their idea was copied, while others see it as a protective move to stop new applications such as the recently launched Google Buzz encroaching on their territory. Some even fear that Facebook will be going on the offensive to try to squash competitors in their challenges to its crown.