I’m going to take a moment from ripping on Facebook to congratulate them on something that’s actually a good idea: The ability to save posts for later, which has begun being rolled out on the site as of today.
It’s pretty straightforward. On a mobile device, you can just press down with your finger and it’ll save the post, and in web browsers it’s a little button, next to “Like” and “Share”.
So why do I like this? Because for once, Facebook is surrendering Feed control to the user instead of insisting they know best. This is a good trend. We approve of this.
True, Facebook will likely use your saved posts to “improve” your “Best Of” feed, but that’s not the point. Usually when we update about Facebook, it’s because they’re hijacking your address book or trying to invade your privacy with some other creepy method. This is a company that, at its core, is a creepy control freak far too much of the time for comfort.
Saving for later gives the user some control over their feed and furthermore eliminates the urgency to reply. After all, it can be hard to find a post again. If something fills you with joy or ticks you off, you have to reply right then if you want to or you’re up the creek. This is a problem when, say, you’re on coffee break at work.
Taking away that immediacy alone will probably help make Facebook more civil as well, so that’s a bonus. Good job, Facebook. Keep it up. Now maybe make your privacy controls more transparent?