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Facebook\u2019s launch of Stories<\/a> may be the social network\u2019s big news of the week, but some Facebook users have spotted another addition, and are thoroughly confused. A \u201crocket ship\u201d icon has popped up in the app of select users worldwide, adjacent to the News Feed button. Its appearance is prompting a lot of users to wonder, \u201cwhat on earth is this thing?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The button may be either at the top of the screen or the bottom, depending on whether the user is on iOS or Android.<\/p>\n What has Facebook done now? ? I already really dislike that marketplace crap. Now what’s this rocket icon thing??? pic.twitter.com\/l0obKojCJH<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Amanda Clinton (@Amanda_Clinton) March 4, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n As it turns out, the rocket ship icon is just the latest in Facebook\u2019s ongoing experiments in presenting an alternate News Feed to users \u2013 one that consists of posts, articles, photos and videos from sources you haven\u2019t followed, like Facebook Pages or posts news media organizations, for example.<\/p>\n While you might not be actively tracking these sources, Facebook believes it\u2019s content that you\u2019ll like. The items displayed in the \u201crocket ship\u201d feed come from Pages that are similar to those you\u2019ve already liked, as well as those that are popular with your friends \u2013 like a video that many people in your network are watching, for instance.<\/p>\n This is not a new experiment \u2013 Facebook was recently spotted\u00a0testing an alternative News Feed, but was using a different icon (a small square) at the time. That test was also limited to Android beta users, according to reports<\/a>. A similar earlier test <\/a>on iOS actually labeled the second feed with the word \u201cExplore.\u201d<\/p>\n The new experiment with the rocket ship, however, is\u00a0appearing in the mobile version of Facebook across both iOS and Android platforms, including those who have not opted into a beta.<\/p>\n Despite Facebook\u2019s advanced algorithms designed to keep users engaged and endlessly scrolling \u2013 and its understanding of what a user has liked, watched, and clicked \u2013 the company has not heavily focused its efforts on helping users\u00a0connect more broadly with\u00a0interests through recommended content. Instead, today\u2019s\u00a0News Feed is filled with content a user has explicitly liked, whether that\u2019s friends\u2019 posts or updates from Pages users are following.<\/p>\n But Facebook has always wanted<\/a> to have a better angle into people\u2019s interests \u2013 especially as other networks (like Twitter) have made it easier to follow news and topics, and not just people, brands, and businesses.<\/p>\n Wtf is that rocket icon in the latest Facebook app<\/p>\n \u2014 maidcat ?\ufe0f\u200d? (@shdwcat) March 22, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n I’m normally not tech stupid- but i have no idea what the “rocket” icon means at the bottom of Facebook on my phone.<\/p>\n \u2014 Scott Thomas (@only_me_ScottoT) March 6, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n @facebook<\/a> what is the new rocket ship icon in the bottom tray?!?<\/p>\n \u2014 OkayMeanwhile (@OkayMeanwhile) February 25, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n In 2012, Facebook introduced \u201cinterests lists\u201d<\/a> to organize its News Feed by topic, but this never saw mainstream adoption. In 2014, the social network experimented again with interests, via\u00a0its mobile app Rooms<\/a>, which offered users\u00a0a means of discussing various topics. But that app eventually failed.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n An alternative News Feed-like stream of information could be another way of tackling interests, but popping it into the app without an explanation is clearly confusing to those who have new feature.<\/p>\n\n
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