The New Facebook

Mid-conference presentation (tsk tsk) I logged into the New Facebook (also see their related blog).  FB has been building towards this for months and I couldn't wait any longer to see it now that it's finally available for testing!

I will preface this blog with two anecdotes from the first day at eduWEB 2008.  1) Our UK colleague's teenaged niece says "everyone"  is switching from bebo to facebook.  2)  @bradjward's recent 2012 survey found that while knowledge of MySpace/Facebook is about even (skewed because surveyed Facebook Group) - actual use of both sites puts MySpace way waaay below Facebook.

My first reactions to the demo redesign (as a Facebook addict) were that I had no idea whether I was looking at my "redesigned" profile or homepage - or some kind of hybrid of both?  There was no "profile" link and home just took me to where I was ... eventually figured out that if I clicked my own name in the primary nav, it took me to my own profile.  A definite nav switch from Facebook classic, but once figured out I suppose it's intuitive.  The second "first' reaction was that my picture was "puny."  I'm definitely used to seeing a much larger version of my display pic, and there is no real reason for demanding this other than pictures are prettier than words.

Throughout development, Facebook posted ongoing screenshots of the direction the redesign was expected to take.  Friendster's claim to shame was a set of rules that tried to tell users what they could and could not do (as well as deleting offending profiles).  MySpace's claim to fame was its recognition of user innovation and the development of formal features that supported things that users were frequently hacking (i.e. adding background and custom layout, increasing the number of "top friends").  During the redesign process, and with other launches such as the Newsfeed and Beacon, Facebook seems to be trying to regulate its users. Users are going to do whatever they jolly well please and will frequent the site that makes doing so effortless.  

During the 2008 redesign, Facebook was much more open about the forthcoming changes - but still informed users that they would only be reading feedback sent to their specified email address, and would not be reading comments on the notes and photos of their info page.  Here at eduWEB, Facebook is being cited as an example of what students are using instead of email - and yet Facebook is saying email is the only option.  More than 100,000 comments were received on the info page - counted by Facebook - which is 100,000 user submitted thoughts on the redesign that were submitted NOT through the requested channel.  Ignore or survive?

Another slightly related thought is that after all the pushback over the Newsfeed when it first launched, it seems almost like they are now killing it.  What has traditionally been in the once-controversial newsfeed is now being integrated into the "wall." User feedback on this change was that they like the wall/newsfeed remove/size feature being introduced, but are concerned about the change in wall's function (i.e. double purpose as newsfeed).  Whether this is actually going to be less usable is yet to be seen - might just be general change backlash.  

On a completely personal tangent, at first I thought that relationship status was the only thing really shown on the wall tab because "holly" had just not filled out her profile completely, but this shows she has a very full profile... the emphasis on relationship status vexes me.  It takes Facebook back to the origins both of the fresh faces book, and of MySpace which has always required a relationship status.  I have always really appreciated that it's optional on Facebook - and there aren't really signs that it's not still optional - but why should the short form summary for me be my networks and relationship status? grr..

Here are a few more shots: