Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York

Another Page Turns in the Facebook

The significant upgrade to the online social networking site Facebook that was launched today is somewhat of a sentimental milestone for me, if you would.  I’ve felt a part of Facebook’s growth as one of the first hundred thousand people to be invited though the pearly gates of procrastinator's heaven. That’s right; access was invitation-only, based on your school’s involvement with the site. I remember it being a status symbol of sorts if ones alma mater granted access to a Facebook profile.  

Over a period of time that I’m officially labeling "Facebook Adolescence," Facebook grew by imitating its peers, much like a teenager would, and took on its competitor's best qualities. Facebook emulated Friendfeed and Twitter by adding features that allowed users to mini-blog with both the status and the feed features. From Myspace they grabbed personalization options and top friend features.

It wasn’t until more recently that the appworld came about with countless third-party-created mini-programs invading the online homes of so many facebook profiles. Programs did anything from track ones hottest friends in a network voting contest, to qualifying one's undying devotion to a sports team.  In my opinion, this addition has created the most unwanted change to the site. I'm prompted to label this time for Facebook as "The College Years" because of the numerous casual, careless "flings" Facebook had with third party applications.  I avoid certain friend's profiles due to their uninhibited use of applications that subsequently clutter their profile.  It can take more than a few minutes just to find their wall! (see: right snapshot of one of those friend's app icons)

Fortunately the days of wall searching are nearing an end. The new design, launched today, targets site organization. The noise created from Apps has been replaced with a more organized layout. The once prominent “wall” has made its way back to the spotlight.  It seems Facebook is attempting to recall the basic layout that awarded it so much of its initial success.

Incidentally, in the un-cluttering attempt, the order of the Apps appearing on ones homepage gets shuffled around; ridding the reliability of placement and publicity for developers.  Before now, recently added Apps were the most prominently displayed on the profile. However, applications have now received “bookmarks” and have a new coveted home page spot.  

The more widespread design also opens up the text and allows a better focus on inline advertisements in the news feed.  That’s not the only advertising perk this upgrade has to offer. Facebook is now able to include the popular 300x250 ad unit, whereas before, FB could only use the odd size of 120x600. Good news for advertisers, great news for Facebook profit margins.

The new “facelift” is expected to be phased into existence over the next few weeks.  Users will be able to test out new features before the upgrade is made permanent. It’s safe to say Facebook has graduated into the real world and will have increased relevance in the years to come.

*Photo Credit: Insidefacebook.com