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How About We Don't Delete Newsfeeds
Replies
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I'm really sad about how the optimism in this thread seems to be dwindling since I last checked it, and understandably so.
I've been using MFP almost every single day since March 2016. Even on the days where I didn't log food (which is pretty rare), I still checked out what other people were up to on my newsfeed. I might have come for the database, but I stayed for the community. When life gets busy and I haven't had time to keep up with my newsfeed, I miss it. I have made many good friends from my interactions there.
And no, I'm not a paying member, but I still see adverts and the more 'free members' that leave as a result of the retirement of the news feed, the fewer people there'll be to show ads to. Incidentally, I probably would have upgraded my membership to premium years ago if the app wasn't so glitchy. If you want to make more money, MFP, fix the glitches and keep the newsfeed!
I'm going to be checking out alternative apps. I'm currently exploring Fooducate, which has a community element/news feed to it. Anyone else tried that?
A bunch of us went to Loseit5 -
Hi y’all, Wanted to first acknowledge that saying good bye to any feature is hard, and I too am sad to see the Newsfeed ride off into the sunset. I do feel strongly that social interaction is important for a lot of folks on what can often be a lonely and difficult journey and having friends cheering you on can make a difference.
I’ll be transparent that the Newsfeed was one of our oldest features that had many flaws and was no longer sustainable to support. While it was not used by many we understand that it’s a real loss for those who used it.
While it is not perfect, due to some limitations like no friend or follow features in the Community, our team enabled the Community Activity Feed on profiles within the community as it was an existing feature available from our forum providers. Some of you may even remember seeing it briefly back in 2021 when we updated the Community.
The community profiles only have two options Public or Private, and the Private option makes the Activity Feed unviewable by others. The next best alternative to utilizing the Activity Feed would be to create a Private Group to invite your friends to and interact with them there.
I know these options don’t “replace” the Newsfeed by any means, but we hope they help give some members some options to interact with others outside of topic driven discussions.
Can we fix the newsfeed instead of completely scrapping it? The likes and comments were very supportive for me. Very sad and paying member :-(2 -
KickassAmazon76 wrote: »Seems to me that the problem is that MFP has too many free users using free features. While I'm sure some people in the company feel less than good about pissing so many people off, what does it matter if users leave if they never paid in the first place?
Well.. the free, long term members, the ones who post educated feedback and suggestions in the forums, the ones who grab hold of new members (who WILL and DO pay) and help them along their way... they're a form of intellectual assets that you cannot value on a balance sheet.
I get that nothing is free... so run a poll to see how much people would be willing to pay for a news feed. I know that I won't pay a pile of money for micro tracking and all the extra features, but I would have been willing to pay a smaller annual subscription for a STABLE and USEABLE news feed, bar code scanner and reliable diary with macro tracking.
Give us options to pay something but not an astronomical amount. Create a tiered payment structure, and maybe you'd see some of that influx of dough that the stupid ads all over our newsfeed don't generate.
If you don't care about your free users, then find a way to soak them for a bit of coin and they can pay for your developers to do a better job of the feed.
I have been using mfp for free for 14 years (or more). I've made lifelong friends, they helped me through an abusive divorce, the loss of family, pets, children who were suicidal and struggling with chronic pain disorders. The news feed was THE ONLY safe place from my ex (who stalked me relentlessly) and the only place where I could truly be ME and still feel loved.
I am grieving the loss of that community now.
I just wish you would have asked us how much we'd have been willing to pay to keep it around. You might have been surprised.
This, I'd be willing to pay for premium if the standard app/website wasn't a complete glitch-fest. Half of the time I see the stupid strawberry error page. So why would someone put up money on a questionably stable app?4 -
Okay, totally get your frustration but (and I’m just a member who pays for this - in no way affiliated with MFP) please recognise that Betty, Durden et al are just paid staff. They aren’t the decision makers, they aren’t the ones profiting, they’re just the ones shoved in front of us all to take the flak.Tatted_Gemini wrote: »👋 Hi, just chiming in again to say I'm continuing to read and pass along your feedback.
Instead of just passing along feedback how about actually giving us some answers! Why is mfp already removing people’s newsfeeds? Why can’t we access our friends or our own profiles? Why will diary or exercises logged not post to our pages anymore? All these features being removed is the only reason many of us have stuck around. Get your *kitten* together and start listening to us!
They might well be on our side but you know, have mortgages / rent to pay, kids to put through school etc.
Just wanted to put a note re kindness out there - really easy to get energised behind a keyboard but let’s be kind to the people who have to take the negativity but have no power to effect change.
Unless @Betty @durden want to tell us they’re major shareholders? 😉
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The family we have created through newsfeed is extremely important and we use newsfeed Every day!!Ive emailed several people at Francisco partners and haven’t heard back from anyone.But it’s obvious WE don’t matter,we don’t have any say in what we want as the users of mfp.Im sure it’s more to do with money.1
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Workoutahloic50 wrote: »The family we have created through newsfeed is extremely important and we use newsfeed Every day!!Ive emailed several people at Francisco partners and haven’t heard back from anyone.But it’s obvious WE don’t matter,we don’t have any say in what we want as the users of mfp.Im sure it’s more to do with money.
I’m sorry you haven’t received any responses. I don’t know anyone that has reached out that has received a response.
Many business owners and financiers I know personally see the value of community engagement… I’m saddened that MFP does not. Actually a bit shocked.
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I agree save the News feed3
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Spaff_luceat_lux_vestra_BSB wrote: »Hey All...please go rate the mfp app...give it a 1 and comment. If enough people do it they will see how unhappy we are
Keep speaking up
I did exactly that!! Keep flooding the App reviews stating you want the NEWSFEED. It’s the PAL part of MyFitnessPal!!4 -
👋 Hi, just chiming in again to say I'm continuing to read and pass along your feedback.
In regards to the forums, I'll work on collecting feedback and see what is possible with our forum providers to make improvements here. I can't make any promises, but always happy to research what can and can't be done here.
@Betty - I used posting my Diary privately to my friends in the NEWSFEED as my way of being accountable. How can I continue to do that with my personal private friends so I can continue my weight loss journey privately and safely?4 -
sunrise611 wrote: »durden wrote:Just wanted to clarify that we aren't bots- every post you see from a staff member is a real person- and we have no plans or intention of removing our community forums."
Then don't remove the Newsfeed either. The Newsfeed is basic and doesn't show us "badges" that we "earned" but we don't want or need that. I have been here for a long time and never paid attention to the "rewards" that the community/forum Profile displays to motivate us and cheer us on.
That's not important. What is important to us are the friendships that we cultivated over the years in our private Newsfeed. That's more rewarding and encouraging than a bunch of "badges".
Same, I have never been a "community" tab person here. I really prefer seeing my friends' goals and milestones in real time. Being able to congratulate wins and streaks as soon as I get on. That kind of support can be paramount to people who may be easily discouraged or frustrated. The support is literally RIGHT THERE when you open the app. I get, you can click here and here, then go there, and find your friend, comment here and done. To me it's just unnecessarily tedious when, as it stands, half the time I just get an error page... Just saying, I've seen a lot of friends who've already went to other apps and are just waiting for this to happen so they can abandon their profiles. Really sad, but it is what it is I suppose....5 -
It is clear that the decision makers at mfp don't care. Sad, but clear.5
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👋 Hi, just chiming in again to say I'm continuing to read and pass along your feedback.
In regards to the forums, I'll work on collecting feedback and see what is possible with our forum providers to make improvements here. I can't make any promises, but always happy to research what can and can't be done here.
@Betty - I used posting my Diary privately to my friends in the NEWSFEED as my way of being accountable. How can I continue to do that with my personal private friends so I can continue my weight loss journey privately and safely?
You can't...mfp is taking away the PALS part of mfp
Hope on over to Loseit app with your friends...it takes a bit to get use to but at least it has the newsfeed so you can continue supporting your friends in a safe, secure and private environment6 -
So my newsfeed button is officially gone.
I clicked on friends… and there is no way to
directly go from my IOS app to friends activity pages.
So do we have to keep a list of screennames on a notepad, then go to community and do a search for them? That is really inefficient especially for app users. The app also doesn’t allow copy and paste from friends list to community.
This roll out is really lousy and discourteous corporate MFP.
@betty @durden - doesn’t seem like MFP has taken any of the hundreds of users pleas into consideration, nor has it been transparent about the timing of this roll out. There are people that don’t read the community boards that just woke up to having no newsfeed.
Between emails outreach, numerous posts in this board and a social media campaign… corporate MFP has just given many loyal years long users the middle finger.
It was posted that the newsfeeds would go away “sometime before end of June.” Having a date would have been nice so users could have communicated with friends on their feed.
After 10+ years, I have ended my paid subscription.7 -
KickassAmazon76 wrote: »It is clear that the decision makers at mfp don't care. Sad, but clear.
But did we honestly think they would? Maybe I'm just jaded, but they are in the business of making money, actual people aren't part of the equation.4 -
SafariGalNYC wrote: »So my newsfeed button is officially gone.
I clicked on friends… and there is no way to
directly go from my IOS app to friends activity pages.
So do we have to keep a list of screennames on a notepad, then go to community and do a search for them? That is really inefficient especially for app users. The app also doesn’t allow copy and paste from friends list to community.
This roll out is really lousy and discourteous corporate MFP.
@betty @durden - doesn’t seem like MFP has taken any of the hundreds of users pleas into consideration, nor has it been transparent about the timing of this roll out. There are people that don’t read the community boards that just woke up to having no newsfeed.
Between emails outreach, numerous posts in this board and a social media campaign… corporate MFP has just given many loyal years long users the middle finger.
It was posted that the newsfeeds would go away “sometime before end of June.” Having a date would have been nice so users could have communicated with friends on their feed.
After 10+ years, I have ended my paid subscription.
Hey M....GO visit Francisco Partners in NY...maybe you can at least talk to a real person👍3 -
My newsfeed is now gone, and so am I. I switched to cronometer which is a much better tracker, the newsfeed was the only reason I stayed. I will use MFP for the community section only, needless to say, I will not renew prime membership. Sad to see MFP destroy a great community and possibly its user base. I‘m on IG now to substitute for the newsfeed,4
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I mean the MFP CPO is new in his role as of April so this was his first big power move and it displayed inexperience in leadership IMO. Even if they contracted out a new off-the-shelf replacement newsfeed product from a vendor, it would have to be pretty bare bones and low cost given the complexity of what was offered. We didn’t have much but it was exactly what was needed for the context of weight loss and fitness.
Also, framing unuseful features like community and activity feeds to be something of value to mask the removal of something that was both unique to this platform and heavily utilized (and attracted new users) is pretty low-effort and low-care. Not to mention the lack of transparency or about timing as mentioned by others above. We were MFP’s biggest fans and we accepted all the constant glitching because of this feature. To conclude, this was such an unprofessional move.
MFP is mid now.5 -
KickassAmazon76 wrote: »It is clear that the decision makers at mfp don't care. Sad, but clear.
But did we honestly think they would? Maybe I'm just jaded, but they are in the business of making money, actual people aren't part of the equation.
I expect them to care as long as doing so can make them money. I'm struggling to see how this change will make them money.
Sure, removing the Newsfeed instead of updating the code reduces a cost they needed to spend, I suppose. But from the reaction here getting rid of the Newsfeed will reduce the number of premium users they have and as it stands will definitely cut any ad revenue from us freebie users. That does not sound like it will net them any more profit overall.
Makes me wonder what they have coming down the pipeline.6 -
Hey PALS
Francisco Partners phone # in New York...646-434-1343
MFP phone # 415-766-2365 ....goes straight to a message...this person is unavailable...shocking I know.
But hey you never know we might get lucky and get to talk to someone5 -
SafariGalNYC wrote: »The camaraderie of the personal newsfeed has kept many, including myself - coming back for years. Without it.. how is it different than other fitness apps?
It will be interesting to see — in the light of so many user requests to keep the feature if the developers and corporate side see a value in it for the user experience.
**S A V E O U R N E W S F E E D**
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**S A V E O U R N E W S F E E D**
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Friday Lunch2 -
Well my friends...I heard back from MFP today....there is no resurrecting the newsfeed
Here's the email I received
Dear Michelle,
First and foremost I am genuinely sorry for the impact that our removal of the newsfeed is having on our community. I won’t deny that it is a real loss for those who were actively engaging with their friends to get the motivation and support needed to be successful in this journey. I have worked at MyFitnessPal for over a decade and personally the newsfeed used to be my favorite feature.
The newsfeed is an old service that had costs and other issues associated with it and unfortunately only a very small percentage of our members actually used this feature.
So while I do understand and support the business reasons behind this change, it isn’t without regard to how much it will be missed. I also fully recognize that the other social features we have, do not replicate what the newsfeed was providing. While we hope to bring more features into the app to help our members be successful, we don’t plan to restore the (old) newsfeed. I know this isn’t the answer you would have wanted, but I did at the very least want to reach out to you personally to let you know that we got your message. Our Board of Directors and our executive leadership team have read and discussed your email specifically.
I understand if you want nothing more to do with us, but we would love an opportunity to hear more from you. Would you be willing to meet with myself and some senior folks from our product team in the future? We can’t always give the customer want they want, but we can always listen and learn and do better next time.
Again I am sorry for the frustration and inconvenience and disruption of your MyFitnessPal relationships this change has caused you.
Olivia Carlson
VP Customer Happiness5 -
I guess you never really know how important people are until they are gone. Grieving the end of my time here with my pals.
As others said, even when I wasn't tracking, I always came back to MFP for my Newsfeed family.
This sucks, and the activity feed is the worst. Just tried to use it, and it's a mess. It takes you to a nonsense page and then directs back to the app. I entered my weigh in (loss), and it didn't post. So we have less features with the same glitches, and no safe space with our support pals.3 -
The newsfeed has been incredibly instrumental to my motivation for losing weight. The app in general has been buggy but I’m willing to look past that. Without the newsfeed I will likely switch to another app.9
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Without the news feed, there's not much here for me anymore. After 9 years here, I'm gradually migrating to Loseit and Instagram to interact with my old MFP friends. You've ruined a good thing, MFP. It worked fine until a series of corporations bought it, and now it's run into the ground.6
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What an incredibly interesting position "VP Customer Happiness" 🙃🙃🙃 I have been around the corporate business world and the military for over 40 years and really never knew that was a position. Great message. 😕3
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SummerSkier wrote: »What an incredibly interesting position "VP Customer Happiness" 🙃🙃🙃 I have been around the corporate business world and the military for over 40 years and really never knew that was a position. Great message. 😕
Best velvet glove delivery I've ever read.2 -
Here's the email I received
Dear Michelle,
First and foremost I am genuinely sorry for the impact that our removal of the newsfeed is having on our community. I won’t deny that it is a real loss for those who were actively engaging with their friends to get the motivation and support needed to be successful in this journey. I have worked at MyFitnessPal for over a decade and personally the newsfeed used to be my favorite feature.
The newsfeed is an old service that had costs and other issues associated with it and unfortunately only a very small percentage of our members actually used this feature.
So while I do understand and support the business reasons behind this change, it isn’t without regard to how much it will be missed. I also fully recognize that the other social features we have, do not replicate what the newsfeed was providing. While we hope to bring more features into the app to help our members be successful, we don’t plan to restore the (old) newsfeed. I know this isn’t the answer you would have wanted, but I did at the very least want to reach out to you personally to let you know that we got your message. Our Board of Directors and our executive leadership team have read and discussed your email specifically.
I understand if you want nothing more to do with us, but we would love an opportunity to hear more from you. Would you be willing to meet with myself and some senior folks from our product team in the future? We can’t always give the customer want they want, but we can always listen and learn and do better next time.
Again I am sorry for the frustration and inconvenience and disruption of your MyFitnessPal relationships this change has caused you.
Olivia Carlson
VP Customer Happiness
This should satisfy the delusion that some of my friends on the newsfeed have that a "miracle" is going to happen and we'll be saved. If the "Bluebird Of Happiness (VP Customer Happiness)" can't save us no one can. It's time to find somewhere else to land.................the general consensus seems to be IG for photos and Lose It for the newsfeed and tracking food and exercise but don't wait too long to decide!
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To be fare it didn’t have a newsfeed 12’years ago when I first joined and it was fine2
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