Everybody, freakout! Following a test launch in New Zealand, Facebook has unleashed its latest profile redesign, a complete overhaul known as Timeline, to all users worldwide. The move has been a long time coming, but now that it’s here, we’re not sure we’re ready for the backlash.
Timeline is a complete revamp from the previous version of the Profile. Topped by a giant profile picture, your new Timeline page organizes your Wall into chronological order, making it possible to look back over your entire life on Facebook. All new posts appear front and center. As you go back through time, Facebook automatically shows the posts that received the most interaction. Users can then expand certain periods of time to see more posts.
We’ve been testing out the feature for a while, having enabled it using a developer login. And we have to say, it really is pretty awesome. But if you don’t like change, you’re going to loathe Timeline — it is about as big a change as you can get.
To help mitigate the user backlash, Facebook is giving users seven days to “review everything that appears on your Timeline before anyone else can see it,” so you can see how your posts look on your Timeline before it goes live. Facebook has added a “view as” tab, which allows you to check what information is viewable to whom. If you’re happy with how it is, you can publish your Timeline at any point during the seven-day review period.
Facebook also gives users granular control over each post, so that you can feature posts you think are important. And a new “Activity Log” tool allows users to “review all your posts and activity, from today back to when you first started using Facebook.” No other users can view your Activity Log.
Checkout Facebook’s Timeline demo site here. If you want to give Timeline a try, simply click the “Get Timeline” button.
