Some Facebook users have been noticing an interesting adjustment to the social network site’s interface that was initially announced at the f8 2011 conference. ‘Read’ and ‘Listen’ buttons are popping up on Facebook’s Ticker to allow users to quickly and easily consume media that other friends are engaging with.

First, a music note or newspaper icon appears next to the Ticker story to indicate the type of content that can be viewed then, when hovering over the content a ‘Read’ or ‘Listen’ label appears. Clicking on the label, directs the user to that specific content.  In some cases, the user will have to authorise the app’s installation upon clicking on the link, but if the app has already been installed, the content can be viewed immediately.

As a result, Facebook has allowed users to bounce back and forth between its various affiliated “Read, Watch, Listen” partners in an effortless way. These new buttons may boost user activity for the various applications with more visibility for Facebook’s 800 million users.

It is yet to be determined when this function will roll out to all users.

source: the next web