News Feed and Live Feed links are now displayed above the status bar on the homepage

If you’re a Facebook user, you’ve probably noticed a few changes…errr, well on that note Facebook is constantly changing and it can be hard to keep up with them! You might’ve noticed that the “Highlights” link on the left navigation is now gone.  The layout near the status bar on the homepage has changed too, adding “News Feed” and “Live Feed” links just above it. So, what’s the difference?

News Feed

This is the default setting on the homepage and it displays information that Facebook selects based on popularity. It’s not always accurate and it can be really annoying – say your friend posts a status that’s really attractive to others and they continue to comment on it. That same post may keep showing up on your homepage for days!

Live Feed

The live feed is a real time feed of activity on facebook. If you’ve been logged on for awhile, but you’re on the News Feed tab on the homepage, you’ll notice a blue circle with a number in it pop up next to the Live Feed – that’s the number of posts, photo comments, etc. that have happened since you’ve logged on. This can also be obnoxious in a case like this: “Jen” just discovered the Farmville application and is constantly playing it without disabling the news feed posts. So now every other post could be about Jen’s Farmville status which may not be the information you care about.  Luckily, there’s a hide option so you can choose to no longer see Jen’s Farmville posts.

So which is better – Live Feed or News Feed? Should News Feed stay the default for your homepage? Or should it change to Live Feed?