Don’t Buy: The New Facebook
I was a Facebook Specialist for most of my titled career. It’s only fair that I talk about Facebook and its new face-lift.
(source)
I was told that this new update resembles how the Facebook iPhone application looks like. Facebook segmented everyone’s profile into tabs to fit on the tiny screen. If the iPhone is the cool thing, I guess the reasoning is that computers want to look like iPhones too. So Facebook added tabs as you can see. This is not good news for Facebook stalkers, the people who consistently check and re-check another’s profile for any new content. The Facebook stalker now has to admit to themselves they have a problem and that they are actually looking for something in particular rather than just perusing. But even perusing has become more than a one-click operation. Not to mention, even with the tab breaks, everything seems so pushed together. Did Facebook forget to code in padding?
Another anti-selling point about Facebook’s new design is that the wall, which was originally for friends to leave comments, is now combined with the mini-feed, a place that documents what that profile user has done lately. This combo doesn’t differentiate between wall posts and mini-feed updates. It just becomes a hodgepodge of information.
For application developers, the new Facebook is also doing them a disservice. Applications have their own tab. And applications came to Facebook as an unwanted feature (due to spam and the way they originated as a “viral” but mandatory spread). Now that you don’t have to see the applications, why would a user go looking for them?
Another change is the News Feed. The News Feed is the landing page. It was another unwelcome feature when it was introduced in September 2006. Now, the landing page seems more cluttered than usual. It still features the News Feed, as you can see below, but it also has a clunky box to the side that provides even more information that just seemed cleaner in the previous layout.
It could be that I need to get used to it. But chances are Facebook jumped the gun with this new release. Is this what Facebook thinks the people want? More information? A full screen iPhone app? Feel free to disagree, but to me, it seems like Facebook just injusticed themselves.
Lucky for them, I am (1) dependent on their service and (2) their service is free, so there is nothing to buy anyways, otherwise, “eff” this!
(Like Twitter’s Fail Whale.. for when systems are down, here is Mashable’s unoffical Facebook’s Fail Whale)
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3 Comments, Comment or Ping
Hey, long time reader, first time post…
I perused the new fbook layout last night, and I have to say, it’s horrible. I hated the apps when they were first introduced and cluttered people’s profiles. Because of them I barely use fb other than to get in touch with people via wall/msg/event. The only reason I use fb in the first place is because all my friends are on it. I wish another networking site like Virb would have gotten popular. I don’t really check out new photos or stalk the newsfeed (which, btw, I actually am a fan of and its one of the smarter things fb has done). So with the new layout, I was semi-excited that apps were in a separate tab. But you hit it right on the mark, that’s a complete disservice to developers. Except for the hardcore of fb app elite, most people are never going to click the app tab for most of their friend’s pages.
But putting EVERYTHING into different tabs is just annoying. It’s an extra click or two to see everything a user’s profile has. Now people really seem stalkerish if they know everything on a user’s profile.
The layout itself is a step backwards. It’s now way too wide and everything is jumbled. And between different parts of the site the sidebar moves around. Or disappears. The only part of the site that works with the wide is photos, which really didn’t have too much of a problem before.
All in all I realize I’m more rambling generally that providing any real new opinions, but I do believe that people are either going to complain until fbook realizes they effed up, or the stupid people who still think its the shit will learn to deal with it. Hell I bet fb will now make more money with the extra clicks it takes for page views. Is it the only social networking site that has it’s info in tabs?
That Zuckerberg picture is absolutely priceless!
Totally shitty. As if I didn’t feel enough like a stalker when I “checked someone’s profile to see how they updated their favorite Movies”…
And what is the purpose of merging the wall with shit I did? I don’t care what I did. I already know what I did. I don’t need to be reminded.
HATE.
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