Facebook is adding a feature in an effort to get users more involved in real-time conversations about events, similar to Twitter's Trending Topics.
Facebook's feature, called "Trending," is part of the company's strategy to tap into broader public conversations about popular topics including TV and sports, rather than just conversations between friends—with more conversation ultimately resulting in more ad revenue.
Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Trending will give Facebook users the most talked-about topics on the social network at any given moment, personalizing the trending list based on the user's interests, with a quick headline summary.
In the blog post announcing the service, Facebook said an algorithm will highlight topics that have a sharp increase in popularity, allowing people to "find interesting and relevant conversations."
Facebook says that Trending is a response to the volume of public conversations about real-time events on the social network, but ad revenue is undoubtedly there.
The company isn't offering any ad products around Trending now but most likely will, just as Twitter has with "Promoted Trends."
(Read more: Twitter co-founder launches startup)
As part of its push, Facebook has signed a partnership with NBC Sports on Olympics coverage.
For the first time, NBC Olympics' page on Facebook will host video content. It will include the latest news and information about the games, plus polls, photos, trivia and the opportunity to ask questions of NBC commentator and Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes. (NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.)
