Facebook helps brands monitor and respond to comments

On the heels of fixing comment threads, the social network announces another new API to assist brands in setting up different "views" for unruly comments.

 

Facebook's new API lets brands more easily respond to comment replies(Credit: Facebook)

Facebook has been tinkering with how businesses, brands, and celebrities can deal with all of the comments they receive on the social network. And, today, it's rolling out another new tool -- a way for brands to more easily monitor and respond to comment replies.

Setting up a triage comment system through a new API, Facebook is making it possible for programmers to set up different comment "views." 

The first view is "top level comments," which can be ranked to show those that a brand wants everyone to see. Then there are "replies," which show the brand's replies to comments. And, the final view is "comment stream," which displays all comments together in chronological order.

Last week, Facebook released a new comments feature designed to organize and structure the often unruly comment threads on high-trafficked pages and profiles. The aim was to cut down on the deluge of obnoxious comments by lowering them to the bottom of a post and raise the most worthwhile comments to the top. Today's new API tool is an extension of this comment threading feature.

"After months of testing, we have seen how the new feature can improve conversations and be used to start open dialogues with the community," Facebook journalism program manager Vadim Lavrusik wrote in blog post last week.

Facebook said the new commenting features are available only on desktop for the time being.