In a few weeks, we will see all the clever cartoons and graphics complaining about Facebook changes yet again. We all know the graphics—the ones begging the service we’ve all grown to know and love (for free) not to change its design and most popular features. Because we fear change and it’s inconvenient.
A few days ago, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new changes headed our way with Timeline. It’s a photo-heavy page that will replace personal profiles. It’s a drastically different look for Facebook.
The layout really is beautiful and has a lot of potential. There’s a cover picture that takes up the whole top of the page, with your profile pic in the left corner.
I’d encourage everyone to build their Timeline when they get a chance. It’s not public yet, but all you have to do is activate the Facebook developer app, and they’ll invite you to use Timeline. You don’t have to build anything. For specific directions, you can Google “Activate Timeline” and get plenty of how-to’s.
Building the timeline is pretty self explanatory and by the time that it is made completely public, the kinks should be worked out. The only downside to the user is the incredible amount of scrolling that’s involved. These pages by design go on forever.
What does a bright and shiny new interface for Facebook mean for businesses and brands? These photo-centric profiles will certainly have their impact.
Facebook has not yet said what will happen with pages. With the graphically enhanced look of Timeline, it will be increasingly important for businesses to produce engaging content, to compete for user’s attention.
In addition to Timeline, businesses will have to compete with the new open graph features. All media consumption through Spotify, Netflix, and other apps will be visible. Not only that, but people will be able to watch and listen to the same thing as their friends, simply by clicking it.
With more media intake available directly through Facebook, brands will need to work harder to be seen. Video and pictures will be even more crucial.
This is a big deal for Facebook. This is possibly the biggest change in the company’s short history. The privacy debate will surely be rekindled, with the prominent placement of personal information. Once people get used to the new look, I think they’ll be pretty happy. Just learn to like scrolling again.
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