Today on Facebook, I noticed a new link called “Subscribe” right below a user’s profile photo:
If you have Facebook Mobile enabled, click it, and you will get a message letting you know that your friend’s status will now be delivered to your phone:
And in your settings, you can manage who you’re following:
They are definitely copying Twitter here. The ironic truth here is that most Twitter users import their status into Facebook. So make sure you only follow non-Twitter users on Facebook Mobile.
I think this mobile subscription feature is a day late and dollar short. Why would you want to manage two separate feeds from two different sites on your phone? Then again, why would anyone want to receive a text message every time ZDNet editor-in-chief Larry Dignan watches The Oprah Show?
Poll
Will you use Facebook Mobile to subscribe to friends' status?
This service does offer a way to start fresh with following people on your cell phone though. Facebook is a social directory and Twitter is just a messaging service. If you follow way too many people on Twitter, logging in and unfollowing them on mobile devices could be an arduous task.
Also, I’m not sure if this feature is fully rolled out yet. I didn’t see a blog post about it, and after about an hour of following people, I have yet to get a text message.
Very cool effort by Facebook to try and lure people into the mobile addiction that is keeping up with your friends, but I think it’s a tad too late. Maybe not though? Maybe this feature alone will force people to use Twitter less on their mobile devices.
