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    Facebook Tests Smaller Version of 'Trending Articles' in Newsfeed

    By Lauren Indvik | Mashable – Thu, Apr 26, 2012

    Facebook is testing a smaller, less invasive version of the "Trending Articles" insert that began appearing in some users' Newsfeeds earlier this month.

    Now, instead of displaying a vertical block of stories -- between three and six, from the screenshots we saw before -- users see just one headline, accompanied by a thumbnail, source, introductory text and the name(s) of the friend(s) who have already read it. To see more Trending Articles, users can click an arrow in the upper-right hand corner. The change will undoubtedly result in less engagement but it does economize space in the Newsfeed.

    [More from Mashable: Molly Ringwald Embraces Geeks, Joins Twitter, Does a Reddit Q&A]

    Less engagement may be bad for publishers and for Facebook, but most users will be pleased with the change, we expect. David Holley, who sent over the first screenshot below, called the original Trending Articles insert "obnoxious as hell" because it occupied so much space in his Newsfeed. He also pointed out those articles weren't really trending -- only one of his friends had read each of the articles highlighted in the section.

    Trending Articles before:

    [More from Mashable: Facebook Marketing: Why Less Is More]

    Trending Articles now:

    It's worth noting that Trending Articles only displays stories from social reading apps and websites that have integrated with Facebook's Open Graph, a source familiar with the matter tells us. Publications that haven't integrated will qualify for the additional exposure.

    Are you a fan of the new version of Trending Articles? Let us know in the comments.

    Front page thumbnail courtesy of iStockphoto, -Oxford-

    This story originally published on Mashable here.

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