Facebook Stories still aren't being used widely, but the social network is nonetheless committed to experimenting with new ways to distribute them.
Now, Facebook is testing a new mobile feature that would combine Stories and News Feed posts in a swipeable carousel of sorts. This is all according to software engineer and researcher Jane Manchun Wong, who recently tweeted about being part of the test.
The carousel, if rolled out to all Facebook users, would turn the social network's traditional vertical-scrolling News Feed into something closer to Instagram Stories — with regular posts and Stories being given equal placement in the feed.
SEE ALSO:Facebook's plans for a 'high quality news tab' sure sound like a swipe at Apple News+In a tweet shared by Wong, a progress bar crawls along the top of the screen and the app automatically moves to the next status update or Story when it's done, much like Instagram Stories. Wong found this in the Facebook Android app and tweeted video footage of it in action.
Tweet may have been deleted
Facebook confirmed to TechCrunch that the feature was in early testing, but there's no indication this will ever go public, much less become the new normal. Instagram users might remember an incident in December when the app's main screen suddenly worked the same way as the Facebook test Wong found.
That turned out to be a mistake and Instagram went back to normal.
Still, it's not hard to see why Facebook might be interested in such an idea. Facebook clearly wants people to make and watch more Stories, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitting last year that the feature hadn't grown as quickly as he would have liked.
Stories were popular enough on Snapchat that Instagram copied the concept to great success. Facebook makes a significant amount of ad money from Instagram Stories, so it makes sense that it would want the same for its flagship app.
The smart move might be to make this feature available, but optional, so as not to alienate users who have been using Facebook's more traditional news feed for a decade or more.
TopicsFacebookInstagramSnapchatWhatsApp
(责任编辑：探索)
Darth Vader is back. Why do we still care?
Scenes of joy as India finally decriminalises gay sex
Shop uses photos of Jeff Goldblum to sell stuff and frankly we'll take 1 of everything
The Atlantic Ocean is packed with storms. What's going on?
The five guys who climbed Australia's highest mountain, in swimwearYou can now play 'Solitaire' and 'Tic
Google just added two new fun Easter eggs to its search results.。You can now play
。 Solitaire。and 。 Ti
...[详细]Tim Cook talks iPhones, Apple Watch, and then quickly gets out of the way at Apple event
The Super Bowl of tech is officially underway, and Tim Cook wants you to know that his team is alrea
...[详细]Bugatti will make only 40 of its new $5.8 million super sports car
Named for French racing driver Alberto Divo, Bugatti's latest sports car was revealed this week as a
...[详细]Michael B. Jordan surprising a group of kids at school is as pure as it gets
Michael B. Jordan may have won "Best Villain" at the 2018 MTV Movie and TV Awards, but to so many fa
...[详细]Plane makes emergency landing after engine rips apart during flight
A Southwest Airlines flight bound for Orlando, Florida, made an emergency landing Saturday morning d
...[详细]The Atlantic Ocean is packed with storms. What's going on?
The Atlantic Ocean is alive.Including Hurricane Florence, there are currently four named storms -- t
...[详细]Goats continue world domination by taking over New York City subway tracks
Not to be dramatic or anything, but goats continue to conspire against humanity -- this time against
...[详细]Aretha Franklin funeral: Bishop sorry for the way he held Ariana Grande
The bishop who presided over Aretha Franklin's funeral on Friday has since apologized via a statemen
...[详细]When Honda revealed its stunning and grandparent-scaring Civic Hatchback Prototype earlier this year
...[详细]This female tennis player was penalized for removing her shirt
The U.S. Open has a lot of thoughts about tennis -- and women's boobs.On Wednesday, French tennis pl
...[详细]Balloon fanatic Tim Kaine is also, of course, very good at harmonica
You know you love Windows 95, and now it's an app
