It wasn’t too long after Google Plus was launched that Facebook made a counter move to Google Circles with giving Facebook users the option of selecting lists. It isn’t nearly as catchy as Circles, and with most Facebook users bulging with friends, the thought of organizing or re-organizing hundreds of friends is overwhelming to say the least; but a least the emergence of Google Plus pushed Facebook to improve their service.
Now that Google Plus is open to the public and the dust has began to settle, I’ve really began to question whether or not Google Plus isgoing to survive, let alone be a major player in the social media market.
Things weren’t looking good for Google, but now that Facebook has announced their biggest change, yet, Google Plus may still have a chance.
Your New Facebook
In usual fashion, Facebook doesn’t care what you think; so, take a good look at your new Facebook page layout and don’t bother joining the “1 Million Against Facebook’s New Layout.”
What do you think?
Everyone will be sporting their new layout next week. This is a sneak peak ;-).
At first glance, I like it. The idea of choosing a banner image along with your avatar image is pretty fly.
I still don’t like the extra sidebar, but at least you can hide it.
Houston We Have a Problem
This is where things get weird. Your Facebook wall is now the entire timeline of your life.
No joke.
If you’re missing data, like before you joined Facebook, you can add photos, data, etc …
You can do this all the way down to your date of birth.
If you ever wondered if Facebook was keeping track of all your information, wonder no more.
Facebook Changes Are a Net Loss
The new Facebook layout is a bold move. I like it.
However, I’m not a fan of the new timeline. What a wonderful gift to “creepers.”
Whether anyone likes it or not, this is the new Facebook. As much as Zuckerberg likes to jerk around user privacy settings and considering how big these changes are, Google Plus may be the perfect answer to Facebook’s ever increasing social bloat.
What do you think of the new Facebook timeline?
Was this a knee jerk reaction to Google Plus or typical Facebook changes?
Seth says
Lame.
Eric Dye says
Word.
Kyle says
I really like the new layout, in terms of UI at least. Facebook did a really good job designing it, right down to the nifty bits javascript that shuffle up the page on different screen sizes. All in all, it is dynamic, fast and just really nice. I can definitely see the issues in terms of privacy, but I’ll wait until it’s released to the public to really worry about that
Eric Dye says
Great thoughts, Kyle!
Jeremy Smith says
I personally love the visual additions. Younger generations might hate the change, but the story it tells through all of the different parts of Facebook and the stronger focus on photos and videos will probably be appealing to them.
Jonathan Gardner says
I’m one of the “younger generations” (I’m 22), and I feel your spot on with the greater focus on photos and videos being appealing 🙂 . Something I thought about when I saw the timeline feature, is can that somehow be integrated into a genealogy type project? It would be interesting, if for example you could integrate your data with the data of those whom you have listed as family, to create a “family tree on steroids”. For years now, we have had the Genealogy.com type places, with just a “tree”, but integrating the Facebook timeline with ones family members’ photos & videos, could be a new way of genealogy research.
Jeremy Smith says
I’m sure it easily can. The fear though is that those who use Genealogy.com might be turned off at how blatant Facebook is about “tracking” your information.
Dan Allison says
But “the stronger focus on photos and videos” is what killed MySpace. All I want is a place to talk to friends, to create and promote events. That’s being buried now. Someone will create something more like the original Facebook and it will be huge.
Eric Dye says
Buried, indeed!
Gangai Victor says
The eye-candy is not bad though I think this facelift should’ve been done long ago.
But the timeline is creepy.
Eric Dye says
Creepy, for sure.
Travis Williams says
I really like the timeline. I’m not really concerned with privacy issues because I’ve been using lists for years and only allow certain people to see the items I would be concerned with, which isn’t much.
If you don’t want it public then you probably shouldn’t be posting it on the internet.
Jeremy Smith says
The new layout changes public options. If you comment on my status and your settings are more liberal than mine, others will be able to see it that I did not want to see it. Supposedly this will not hold up.
Travis Williams says
I wasn’t aware of that change to the privacy settings. I wonder what else i missed. Do you have a good link where I can read about it?
Eleanor says
The question to me obviously isn’t whether these changes will make people mad (they will, at least initially) but whether they will make them mad enough to bail from Facebook and go to Google + en masse. So far, I’ve only had one friend get mad enough to join Google + (the rest of my circles on G+ are media, tech or marketing folks, not friends and family), but even he still posts on Facebook multiple times every day.
Also, what I’ve read about the timeline is that it’s designed to appeal to young people. People who a) don’t have much of a timeline to fill in and b) don’t worry as much about privacy. And who, let’s face it, would probably be quite pleased if their moms and grandmas all bailed on Facebook.
It’s all very interesting though! Can’t wait to see how it plays out.
Jeremy Smith says
To bail means to leave all their friends on Facebook and hope they go over to Google+. At the same time, it means losing all of those photos unless they take the time to transfer them over. I see none of that happening.
Eric Dye says
As am I!
ThatGuyKC says
I’m still on the fence. I think the new features are slick and have never really resisted the changes Facebook implements. However, I like the simplicity of Google+ and wouldn’t count it out just yet.
With the new Timeline on Facebook people will have to be more careful about who they choose to friend and how their privacy settings are setup. And as always, if you don’t want people to see or know stuff, don’t post it online.
Eric Dye says
True, true, true …
Carl Thomas says
I use Facebook to stay in touch with folks I don’t see every day.
If the web has taught us anything its that one day they will all move somewhere else. When that happens I will delete my Facebook account and move there like we all did with MySpace and others just like it.
While wildly popular, Facebook is just a recreational website. Apple is just a company that makes computers. Someone will come along and do what they do better.
Besides, with more internet use coming on smart phones, does it matter what Facebook puts on its desktop based home screen? I avoid most of Facebooks upgrades because I use my phone to use the site more than my home computer. I think the UI of the mobile app will have more impact on the future than what they put on the main site.
Although I am a 40-year-old preacher. Pretty sure I am not the target audience. I could be completely wrong.
Eric Dye says
I think a lot of this is true (even if you are a 40-year-old preacher ;-))
Josh Wagner says
I like the idea of the timeline and the UI looks slick. So points there.
The problem is the “privacy” concerns. (in quotes because if you’re posting it anywhere on the net, it ain’t private). I’ve got my FB fairly locked down, so it doesn’t bother me too much. But it should always default to the strictest settings, given Jeremy’s commenting example. If that doesn’t happen, then people will be very angry. If people get angry enough, G+ is waiting with open arms.
Eric Dye says
True story.
Brian Wahl says
Personally I like the changes. Seems like FB is trying to incorporate the best parts of Twitter, old FB, and G+ all into one package. I think they’ve done a decent job doing that, but one reason something like Twitter is so popular is that it does one thing really well. Try to do too many things, and you end up not doing any of them all that well.
About the privacy thing – I think that if you’re sharing something on Facebook that you wouldn’t want anybody in the world to see, you’re being a bit foolish. Sure, there are exceptions, but if you’re putting it on the internet – anywhere on the internet – don’t be surprised it’s seen by just about anybody. That’s the rule I try to follow.
Eric Dye says
They’re on the edge (if not over) when it comes to doing too many things, I think.
Dustin W. Stout says
I’ve noticed that the only people saying “Google+ won’t survive” are those who never really tried it to begin with. And if they did “try it”, what they really did is try to use it like they use Facebook. After a day and a half they realized it wasn’t Facebook and they didn’t have any friends on it, so they went back to Facebook complaining that Google+ isn’t Facebook.
[Steps down from soap box.]
As far as Facebook’s new “Timeline” is concerned, I think it’s a valiant effort on Facebook’s part. People will gripe, complain, and hate it for 48hours, then forget anything ever changed. I’ve seen a handful of people get so angry that they joined Google+, but they didn’t delete their Facebook. They never will.
Google is already making a slow paradigm shift in the social media platform (only noticeable if you’re active on Google+) and I think they’re really on to something. Facebook is noticing the evolution of the social space too, and trying to also make a shift. I foresee both of them becoming something different entirely.
Eric Dye says
Interesting stuff, Dustin. You should weave a post on this, I would be interested to hear more.