The New Facebook Design gets a Rude Welcoming
18 Mar
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.
Great post Ray! I certainly have embraced the new Facebook, although I wish the updates streamed in the browser in real time like they do on FriendFeed.
I left facebook, after realizing that it was a glorified gossip breeding ground. I don't want to see what one friend says to another. I don't care. I'm glad that the new facebook changes came about- it helped me to realize how much time I was wasting.
Well true … a lot of people don't like change at all.
I think however the new Facebook have to much information on the page – look at Twitter – much more simple and to the point.
And the translation to Danish is really really bad – come on Facebook you can do better.
but the translation to D
Love the post and it is definitely not the norm of what I've hearing. Perhaps because voice more negative opinions than they do positive? Regardless, what bothers me the most about the new Facebook design…well, it would be easier to describe what I would look for in a Facebook change. Everyone knows, you don't talk to everyone one of your friends on Facebook every day. In fact, I would say I check up on a very small circle of people but have friends in the 100s simply because, its a form of communication to ease the “what-if” questions that pop into my head. What if the live feed was weighted? The friends/groups/etc. that you interact with the most will always appear over those you don't. Again, this could lead to some problems, primarily the “Facebook Stalking” issue (some people like to browse everyone and anyone without ever posting or messaging). This could be aided by weighted parameters, most messaged, most wall-posted and so on. Also, why not throw the iGoogle setup at it, let users rearrange what they see to a manner best interpreted by them. Changing back may not be possible, but giving us some customized options could certainly help ease the transition.
Hey Ray – you hit the nail on the head here. As users of this amazing social network it is important to look at the positive changes and how we can embrace them. I love Facebook Pages, which are now Public Profiles, simply because of that two way communication you talked about.
Also new to the features is the ability to design and specify your own landing page for New Fans of your Public Profile. This is great for marketers like me because you give that fan a specific call to action, with an extremely low barrier to entry.
Keep up the great improvements Facebook and we at http://www.soshallmarketing.com support you!
Because you asked “My question is: Why all the complaints?” I'm assuming you didn't get the constructive issues that users had in the groups, etc. you were reading. While I don't disagree that there are some great enhancements and they shouldn't be ignored, I'm more than happy to share why I'm complaining…
First, and this may be a very dumb question, but is there any way to get our good old minifeed in this new design? The minifeed provided a great snapshot of what your friends were up to, who added pictures, who friended or dated who, etc. No my home page is a running list of status messages I could care less about. I don't see any value in Twitter giving up a feature that was working very well just for the sake of trying to compete with Twitter. They are two separate social networks with two separate purposes.
Also, and maybe I should take the tour, but there's no intuitive way to get a list of your Pages, Groups, Events, Apps from the home page.
I know there's common knee jerk outcry during every redesign, but I think for most users the new layout does take away functionality, regardless of whatever new benefits it offers for Fan Pages and those who want to chat via status messages.
*Sorry! Should have proofread, end of 'graph 2 should have been:
“Now my home page is a running list of status messages I could care less about. I don't see any value in Facebook giving up a feature that was working very well just for the sake of trying to compete with Twitter. They are two separate social networks with two separate purposes.
Kevin,
I see where you are coming from. I'm starting to get a little annoyed with the new feed. It would be real nice if it was real-time updates.
One thing I have noticed, is that people respond to posts on their wall in the “What's on your mind” box.
It doesn't make sense. Maybe these people are just a bunch of “n00bs” to Facebook.
Hopefully we can stick out this current change by embracing the good things! I'm sticking around for awhile, it's the best social-networking device, especially for a college student, like myself.
Thanks for commenting!
Ray
Wow, are you an idiot Miles.
You apparently don't even notice what facebook has done to itself.
You apparently haven't noticed all the functionality and information that has been removed. Or the tons of bad UI design decisions they've introduced.
Hey, did you notice Live Feed is gone? Did you notice you now can never tell when your friends make new friends, join Groups, signup for Events, or change their profile? So now you won't discover new connections as easily, or interesting new groups or local events. And you won't know when your friends have gained or lost an interest, hobby, job, or relationship.
Now we're inundated with trivia in the feed. And the removed the Story Types slider that let us control that trivia.
But sure, ignore the missing information & functionality. Tell us all how us whiners are simply missing-out on how great, and necessary, and useful, the redesign was.
Oh, and yes, that “tour” was so great. A static JPEG. WTF was that going to tell us about the info & function they planned to rip out of the site?
For people who actually noticed what this redesign did, go see this guy's protest guide. Force facebook to make some fixes to what they've broken
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=610107...