The death of the newsfeed [2018]

Benedict Evans argues that the Facebook newsfeed is losing its appeal because its volume is too high to be useful, and that users are shifting toward messaging and group chats. He notes that Facebook says its average user can see at least 1,500 items per day, which he attributes to Dunbar's number and the tendency to share more over time. He argues that algorithmic feeds are still only a sample, and that a shift toward private messaging, including WhatsApp, iMessage and Facebook Messenger, reduces overload. He suggests that the next product may take the form of a news feed across group chats, though he says he does not know what it will be.