By: Ray Miles

It seems like whenever Facebook makes a big change, thousands of people will be there to complain.

The newest complaint is coming from Facebook’s new redesign.

These are some recent comments that were made concerning the changes:

But despite these comments, with a user base of 175,000,000 these groups represent only a tiny fraction of the Facebook population.  Even if 1,000,000 people are unhappy with the new Facebook this is still less than one percent of Facebook.

Facebook did try to warn it’s users by posting a blue box on the top of their home page that read, “Changes to the Homepage are Coming Soon.”  They even offered a tour of the new homepage, so users could prepare themselves for what it would look like.  These changes to the Facebook homepage were then echoed through the Blogosphere but apparently this was not enough.

Many users were still outraged at the fact that their homepage did not look the same and they might have to learn slightly different navigation scheme.  Many users demanded the change be reversed, some making groups that allowed users to express why they don’t like the new features, or describing how to get the old Facebook back.

My question is: Why all the complaints?

The general consensus amongst the Facebook crowd is that the new layout is confusing and mixes up their information.

What the users did not try to grasp was if the new design made more sense than the old one, which is does.  Redesigns like this are essential to the growth of Facebook, and to make it as user friendly as possible to the ever growing Facebook user group.  Keeping up with the times and the latest technology are part of what Facebook and Web 2.0 are all about.

Not to mention, there are many good things that come with the redesign:

• “Pages,” or “Fan Pages” are more like profiles, now. This encourages more two-way communication. It also encourages more musicians, companies, and entertainers, to get on Facebook.
• Information is updated quicker and more effectively, supposedly in “real-time”
• Profiles are now tabbed more efficiently to provide for better organization of information.
• There is now a “Everyone” option that allows anyone to see your profile if you choose it.
• And there  are more security features than ever

Facebook may also be trying to compete with “The New Kid on the Block,” Twitter.

Many Twitter users were not impressed with the new Facebook design because it looks so similar to Twitter that is seems like a ripoff.

This is the second major redesign and layout change Facebook has made in the last year.  There will certainly be more to come.

One innovation that will be coming to Facebook in the future is a news feed that updates itself without having to refresh your browser.  This innovation is already implemented in FriendFeed, and may take some time before Facebook can afford the bandwidth to implement it across it’s wide user base.

So, what’s better than complaining about the new layout of Facebook?

Embracing it!

Use the time that you might use complaining to learn about the new Facebook its features.  By learning how the new facebook works instead of fighting it you will ensure that you maximize your social-networking experience.