About That "VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE" Going Around Facebook Recently

The world of the Internet in general and Facebook in specific is a world filled with true oddities and full-on hoaxes. Sometimes, based on just the message alone, it can be hard to determine which is which. For example, although it screamed "hoax!", my curious side really wanted that video of a whale blown into a building in Japan to be true.

Recently, a client sent me a message and Facebook event request she had received from a friend entitled:

"PLEASE READ - THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO EVERYONE WHO USES FACEBOOK FOR BUSINESS OR PERSONAL REASONS!!"

The message goes on to say that if it seems like FB friends are ignoring you, it is because your "Most Recent" news feed default settings have been changed by Facebook.

Because of the tone of the message, the multiple exclamation points, the all caps title, and the hoax-like dramatic way in which the message is written, my client wondered if the message was true or not.

Turns out, this one is true.

Back in February, when Facebook launched the newest profile page updates, this settings change did actually happen to some users.

Tech-blog Justin's Blog gives a nice, layman's term explanation of what happened and provides supporting links to the Washington Post, AllFacebook blog, and Inside Facebook blog for further details.

If you are experiencing this problem, or didn't even realize the problem the problem was happening to you, the solution is a simple, two second setting change:

1. Click on the Most Recent header on top of your newsfeed to get a drop down menu

2. Click the Edit Options button

3. In the new window that opens, select the Show Posts From option of All of Your Friends and Pages

4. Click Save

If you are a more visual person, here is a handy YouTube video from "Metrotorful" that shows the full message and how to change the settings. (I'll embed the video here in my blog, but am working remotely and the free wireless can't handle the upload.)

Also, if you get the message and you want to pass it on to help out your own friends, consider rewriting the message in your own words or removing some of the drama from the message.

In the meantime, keep bringing the questions!