TechCrunch beat me to it, but the changes are already rolled out anyway: Facebook has given us a new look for our News Feed.

Here’s what I see when I come in:

FacebookNewsFeed

Once again, Facebook is being all Beneficent Overload with its suggestions: “This blue corner marks a story we think will be interesting to you. Learn more about top stories”.

And once again, I have to wonder how much I want to depend on Facebook to think for me, per recent changes.

But it seems like we do have a little control over what Facebook shows you–though the “stories like this” still seems subjective.

TopStoriesNo

There’s also a “News Ticker” on the side that constantly updates based on your friends’ activity. This seems to overlap the regular News Feed but in a more detailed, step-by-step approach. For example, you can see that Friend X likes Person Y’s status, and then see that Friend X commented on Person Y’s status.

Or “Friend X commented on Person Y’s post on Friend X’s wall” and then the comment itself.

Necessary? You be the judge.

The changes filter into Facebook Pages as well, whether you’re an admin or a fan:

FacebookPageChange

Friend Activity for Pages means you see a list of everything that your friends who also like that Page have done, that pertains to that Page (as far as I can tell).

I guess it’s true: We’re influenced by what our friends do–or so studies say. I attended a social media seminar that talked about what influences us online. Facebook is only tapping into the norm–yet is that what we use Facebook for?

What DO you use Facebook for? What do you think of all this tinkering? Is it helpful–or is it one giant eye roll?

As seen on Facebook: