I already hate the new Facebook layout

By Shawn on July 21st, 2008

Well, the new Facebook layout is here - that is, if you want it to be. It is accessible by visiting www.new.facebook.com and logging in. I personally have been looking forward to the upgrade to see what features Facebook would implement to take on Twitter and FriendFeed. They had a real opportunity to turn the News feed on the Home Page into a FriendFeed of sorts by adding likes and commenting, and to take on Twitter by making status updates more of a conversation and less of an away message.

They did none of the above.

The News Feed is pretty much the same - and by pretty much, I mean EXACTLY the same. Ball dropped. I’m confused as to why Facebook felt it needed to add commenting to the Profile’s Mini-Feed (which I rarely look at) but not to the Home page (which some people scan religiously for the latest gossip). They had a real chance to put FriendFeed away - Facebook’s user base easily dwarfs FriendFeeds. A definite blown opportunity.

Status updates are primped up a little bit, but not much. The Profile page now has a box at the top that asks, “What are you doing now?” Very Twitter like, don’t you think? However, that’s where the similarity ends. First off, I don’t quite understand the rationale for treating status updates like Twitter on the Profile page but treating them like the status updates of old on the Home page. It’s confusing - I honestly believe that those new to Facebook (and even some veterans) might not understand that these two status messages are, in fact, the same thing. On top of that, there’s no way to communicate with others through updates (no @replies like Twitter). To see the status updates of all your friends, you have to visit the “Friends” link at the top of the page. However, these status updates are only that friend’s most recent - you won’t find multiple updates and it is nearly impossible to look at old updates. Lame.

There are a bunch of other things I don’t like about the new Facebook interface, like the Wall Post/Activity mashup where a clean, uncomplicated Wall should be. However, the News Feed and Status Update features are the ones I’m the most disappointed with. I really felt like Facebook had a chance to capitalize on its user base and establish itself further as a hot spot on the web by implementing FriendFeed and Twitter-like features. They didn’t, and that is an epic fail.

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