Facebook experiment suggests it's going after Medium

The company is testing a refreshed design for its long-ignored Notes feature that makes the stories look more like blog posts than standard Facebook updates.

“We’re testing an update to Notes to make it easier for people to create and read longer-form stories on Facebook," a Facebook spokesperson told Mashable.

The new design, first spotted by Facebook user John Biesenecker, is cleaner and makes Notes look much more like blog posts rather than extended Facebook statuses. It features a cover photo and a new look for the headline and body text; notably, it doesn't include a sidebar with ads and other suggestions as older versions of Notes do.

As with most of Facebook's experiments, the changes are being tested among a small group of users who are able to access the new features from Facebook's website. The company isn't saying whether the feature will ever be available to a broader audience, but it could be a sign that more changes are coming to Notes, which hasn't been significantly updated since 2010.

Over the last several months, Facebook has introduced a new Instant Articles platform, live video streaming and a new embeddable video player. So the addition of a more full-featured blogging platform would appear to fit in with the company's growing emphasis on content that keeps users engaged ... and on Facebook.