Facebook Updates the Facebook Comments Box Plugin, Adds Features and More Control

The Facebook nemesis is already here and it’s called Google Plus. If you didn’t catch a glimpse of Google Plus yet, I suggest you read on. Of course, you will need invites before starting out, so we are giving out invites and helping you set up your account too. However, I won’t talk about Google Plus in this post. In the midst of all the Google Plus hoopla, Facebook has announced two important updates to its Comments plugin that is in use at over 300,000 blogs and websites.

The first update comes as a “Reverse Chronological” sorting of comments. As is obvious from the name, it will sort comments starting with the latest ones at the top. This is a nifty feature. When the courses of discussion in comments steer in other directions, you can get a hang of the topic by reordering comments upside down. Long story short, this will help you get to the latest comments by timeline.

How to View the Last Comment in Facebook Comments Plugin?

In order to view the last comment, you will need to reorder comments as shown in the screenshot below. Click on the down arrow beside the comment count and select the “reverse Chronological” option.

Another addition to Facebook comments is the “boost comments” option, which is available for webmasters only. With this feature, webmasters can push comments higher up so they are always visible to new commentators. This makes those comments sticky and allows webmasters more control over Facebook comments, which is a welcome change.

Many webmasters still loath Facebook comments for obvious reasons. However, Justin Osofsky, the Director of Media Partnerships at Facebook has clarified,

Many partners have reported significant increases in referral traffic and engagement.

Can that be a good enough reason to use Facebook comments on your website or blog? Will you start using Facebook Comments on your blog, now that it has new features?