Facebook Launches Timeline

[engine]

[facebook.com...]

A profile of your events are now organised in, wait for it, a timeline.

Facebook Timeline [blog.facebook.com]

With timeline, now you have a home for all the great stories you've already shared. They don't just vanish as you add new stuff.

[graeme_p]

Just what I want, to have Facebook record even more of what I do.

This crosses the creepy line for me.

[Marketing Guy]

The new live feed of *everything* the people I know are doing was a step too far IMO. I like Facebook to keep in touch with mates and organise stuff, but I don't want to know everything that they are doing, what photos are commenting on, etc particularly when they're interacting with other people I don't know.

It's a level of creepiness that is too far. It's one thing that stuff being on your profile - I think that's fair play. Having it all in your face all of the time...nah.

Seriously considering culling my FB friend list or deleting the account altogether. May ressurect some ancient technology like a telephone to communicate with people while the dotcom giant's d!ck swinging contest tires itself out.

[Rosalind]

Too much change too soon. It's annoyed a lot of people in my stream, and I can see this being the moment FB jumps the shark.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Getting you to tell Facebook what's important is on the menu right now, this just adds to the recent close friend vs casual friend options.

Your real friends don't need this.

[zeus]

I dont get why people even sign up to facebook, then you can also sent your life story to all companies in the world. Remember yahoo, live, skype messenger chat that way you can also communicate. :)

[gethan]

"facebook is creepy" - any chance that we could take that as read? - and focus on the changes, risks to webmasters and potential opportunities?

(otherwise this topic will be useless - plus WebmasterWorld users have been saying this since day one and FB keeps growing)

If you have a facebook developer account - you can enable it now by following the directions at

[techcrunch.com...]

My initial observations are;

- better responsive design
- you can easily go back through every thing that someone has ever had posted on their wall, places checked in, photos tagged in, status updates etc - with a date timeline scroller
- it seems like ads are less prominent
- big panoramic photo at top of each profile is the only hint of customization

Anyone checked out the developer changes? interesting again...

[jwolthuis]

any chance that we could take that as read?

I agree that it's creepy. I'm having trouble seeing any "potential opportunities" from viewing my posts from 2007. Just the fact that FB keeps them is disturbing.

[J_RaD]

so is everyone gettting sick of facebook yet? I can't see this fad lasting forever.... all the other social networks came and went, and there was more then a few.

[Panthro]

People are going to like this. Maybe some of you guys don't understand but people are on Facebook to snoop on each other, flirt, and boast about how interesting they are. There are controls about what appears in your timeline and what doesn't. IF people can figure out how to use it (the problem I see that FB usually has), then it will catch on.

For us, this means now Susie Q will have "purchased blue widgets from -enter business here-" showing up in her timeline.

[Marketing Guy]

That may be true Panthro, but the ability to do that is based on Facebook's critical mass of users - i.e. most of your mates are on it and quite of the few that aren't are pressured into joining.

The problem is that when FB shift the "snooping line" to the negative for some people, the critical mass begins to shrink as people leave. Then social groups shrink and become less effective for other groups of people (who start using it less) and the situation snowballs in the wrong direction (for FB).

The question is will these changes attract / keep hooked enough users to prevent that (or at least compensate for it)?

G+ on the other hand faces a much tougher challenge of building up that critical mass first and I'm really not sure they'll be able to do that.

HMV in the UK tried launching a social media site for music / films back in 2008 called Get Closer. It lasted a year before it was shut down. They wanted to create a social media site where users basically built their own IMDB clone on which the company could intelligently sell their products to (based on user interests, etc).

IMO it was the underlying commerical interest being put first that killed that idea before it ever could take off. Can FB or Goog apply that commerical interest retrospectively? Maybe, but I'm not certain it would be good for businesses or users.

Mass market groups of people are fickle and normal business logic rarely applies. Perfect example is today's BBC News homepage. The headline article was about the world economy going sour (FTSE 100 dropped below 5000 for the first time in a long while). But the most read story was about Ireland's first ever diagnosed case of spontaneous combustion...that's mass market for you!

[bwnbwn]

I am not yrying to be smart, bias, racist, or derogatory to any sex, nation, or
preference with my statement. It might just be my personality and the post below are my feelings and reflect nothing or nobody else.

Facebook was or is made for women and those that have female traits. I can take Facebook or leave Facebook. I do have an account and every now and then make a post or comment mainily to my childrens post. I don't trust them, I don't care what changes they make, I don't post persoanl info, I don't disclose nothing. I use facebook for making money if possible.

My wife is addicted to it. She has a zillion friends, worries who defriends who
(I don't even know how to find this), keeps up with all the Mr Jones crap, and just IMO can't live without the site.

I really don't think she cares what Facebook does or discloses. This worries me but I feel there are millions of others the same way, and whatever Facebook does won't change the way they use the site.

IMO Facebook knows this 2. They are out for one thing and one thing only Make Money off the users. I would feel the same way and so would each and every poster here.

If you use a FREE site expect this and either quit or move on. Complain all you want it is Free.

Maybe it is time for Facebook to offer a paid type service and the "Customer" then has a choice as to what changes are made and info that is disclosed.

[tonynoriega]

I just got the new platform today, and I think it is definitely an upgrade from the old version... The Timeline methodology is nice.. I like the customized "cover" image that kind of gives it more personality... I give it a thumbs up.

[Marshall]

I know a lot of people are thinking of switching to Google+ because of this. Regardless, I have to ask if FB ever heard of the KISS principle or Less Is More.

Marshall

[tonynoriega]

FB cant seem to win with both sides of the fence here... you have people like Marshall's sentiment who think just leave it and/or simplify it..then you have the patrons who think that when you simplify it, or dont make any drastic upgrades that "they aren't doing anything to make it better"...and you get stuck in a MySpace conversation... about how stale it is... FB is about progression... moving on...out with the old, in with the new... when has the web ever been about being stale and keeping with tradition?

Get on board, or keep to your island.

[Marshall]

tonynoriega, I have nothing against upgrades and no, I'm not leaving it as I don't feel like building a new friends list, but they really did too much at once without giving the users and option, and I think that is what is upsetting most users. In the end, time will tell. I bet they back peddle a little though.

Marshall

[tonynoriega]

What do the users know? 90% of them are brainless twits who only care about how many likes they get when the upload a bathroom camera phone photo of themselves half naked...

However you want to look at it, good or bad, FB doesn't have to give a #*$! about what users think...

Changes like this keep them in the conversation around every watercooler on the planet...

Think of it as marketing.

[txbakers]

I'm tired of facebook already too. It was fun making stupid comments on other people's stupid comments, and the ads and corporate "likes" are just too much.

On the other hand, I downloaded this great new app for my Droid - you touch 10 numbers on the screen, then touch the green button, and you can actually talk with someone far away! Through the Phone! Can you believe it?

[garyv]

I thing Google is squandering a huge opportunity here. They could have been ready with a huge ad campaign speaking to those that are frustrated with the new facebook changes.