Define and Raise the Quality of Social Interactions on Facebook

You have just joined Facebook as a product manager and are asked to help increase meaningful social interactions on the platform. The topic is in the public eye because of misinformation and the political effects of the content people see, and Facebook is reworking News Feed so that it is more relevant to each individual. How would you help? Say what you would count as a meaningful interaction, decide where to focus, propose improvements, and explain how you would know they worked. ```hint Define it before you try to grow it Turn "meaningful" into something you could measure, then test your definition against a post that provokes a flood of angry comments: would your definition count that as success? ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Is the scope News Feed ranking only, or do Groups, Messenger, comments and other Facebook surfaces count too? - Is there a particular group of users or region the company is most concerned about? - How much short-term loss in time spent or ad impressions is acceptable if interactions become more meaningful? - Is reducing misinformation and political harm part of the goal itself, or a limit the improvement must not make worse? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A measurable definition of a meaningful interaction, with reasons for what it includes and excludes - A chosen user segment or surface to focus on, and why it matters most for this goal - Prioritized changes tied to specific pain points, with attention to how they could spread misinformation or political content - A primary success metric with guardrails for user well-being, content integrity and the business - Trade-offs, risks and how the changes would be tested before a full rollout ### Follow-up Questions - Your changes raise comments per user, but surveys show people feel worse after using Facebook. What do you conclude, and what do you do? - How would you stop a ranking signal built on interactions from rewarding outrage or false claims? - Publishers and businesses that depend on reach from News Feed see their traffic fall. How do you handle that?