Facebook: 'Story bumping' and other tips to ensure you see posts you actually like

Most people get frustrated with one thing or another on Facebook - the ranting friend who shares every frustration, or the overly proud mum who thinks their child is the best thing since sliced bread.

But have you ever wondered why Mr Smith appears more in your News Feed than Mrs Smith?

It’s all governed by maths - and thanks to Facebook's "Story Bumping", announced this week, it's changing yet again.

But there are a few clever ways to ensure you see posts from people you actually like, rather than seeing what Mrs Smith is having for dinner, or what Mr Smith did when he woke up that morning.

1. MASTER "STORY BUMPING"
The average person is said to have around 1,500 potential stories a day 'waiting' to be read. But Facebook has recently introduced a Story Bumping element to the News Feed feature, which allows you to see older unread stories you didn’t have time to scroll down far enough for - or stories you have missed because you haven't logged in for a while. Stories automatically reappear near the top of your News Feed if they are still getting attention.

In other words, if other users are still liking, commenting, or sharing certain posts, it assumes you won’t want to miss it - and the more you've interacted with the person, the more likely they are to crop up. You can help "manage" this using Facebook's tools (see below), and by controlling whose posts you "Like" - ie do it when it's a real friend, not when you're just being polite.

2. LEARN HOW NEWS FEED WORKS
Facebook’s algorithm prioritises the stories you interact with most. So, the more you engage with stories or people day-to-day through shares, likes and comments, the more of those posts or person you will see. Step one, don’t comment or share a story for the wrong reasons. "This is a pointless thing to say" will essentially get more pointlessness added to your Feed.

3. LOSE UNWANTED STORIES
Sometimes people just need to be told that no-one cares they just put a t-shirt on. In which case, comment away and when a post by them appears again which you’d rather not see, use the drop-down box on the top right selecting ‘I don’t want to see this’. To avoid any future frustration, there is also a ‘Hide all stories by’ and of course the ‘Unfriend’ button if they really start to grate on you. The same will happen if you ‘Report a story’ or spam, removing the story and keeping similar stories well away.

4. FOCUS IN ON WHAT YOU LIKE
There are other things you can do to make your News Feed more relevant to you, without relying on the algorithm to act as your crystal ball and work out your preferences. There are a number of feeds you can choose to view, accessible via the top right corner of your News Feed. These include Groups, Photos, All Friends, Most Recent and Family, among others and you can create your own lists. Plus you can also ‘Sort’ which stories you want to see first by using friend lists and managing which friends, pages and app stories you want to see, plus choosing between ‘Most Recent’ or ‘Top Stories’.

Essentially what it comes down to is, Mrs Smith might be a pain in the back side so you can remove her, and you might have a soft spot for Mr Smith, in which case you can ‘Show him in your News Feed.’ But ultimately you are in control. Your News Feed universe is in your hands. Handle it carefully.