RSSFacebook addresses whining over recent redesign
By Angela Gunn | Published March 25, 2009, 4:34 PM
It's axiomatic that any site redesign will cause hysterics among some portion of the readership. But Facebook's user complaints over the new look have succeeded to the extent of eliciting a lengthy, slightly abashed, and palpably frustrated blog post from Chris Cox, the company's "director of product," discussing where the site goes from here.
What users apparently will not succeed in doing is in getting Facebook to back down from its new, more Twitter-like mien. The post outlines a variety of adjustments in the works, including live page updating (no more hitting Refresh!), better control over which applications intrude in one's stream, realignment with the new Highlights features to bring it back in line with the old News Feed functionality, and some reorganization of navigation components.
Cox revealed that Facebook, like many other information-rich sites, is grappling with the problem of balancing prime real estate between the most up-to-date news and the stuff that's worth keeping up front for a while. "In the last few weeks," he writes, "you've seen us shift the main emphasis towards real-time conversations and updates as the entry point to Facebook. We're working hard to make this stream more valuable, and also to build out the richness and relevance of the Highlights section."
Response to Cox's post has varied from the usual all-caps meltdowns, fist-shaking, and whining that the type's gotten smaller to cogent requests for changes to such features as Wall-to-Wall, notifications, and layouts.
And yet one amusing user made the effort to have it both ways: Rachel MacKenzie, after lashing Cox for exhibiting Facebook's "groupthink" concerning real-time updates, added in a separate post, "Oh, and now that I've left my reasoned constructive criticism, I would also like to add that Zuckerberg is a douchebag twerp." Noted, and probably as useful to the process as most of the rest of the comments thread.
I cannot stand how the new layout looks. It's funny too because the Layout Vote that they put up showed over 1 million people hated the new layout and only about 80,000 people liked the new one.
They should change it back. Due to this newer layout, I visit less as do a bunch of other friends I know, which cannot be good for Facebook. Considering that a overwhelming majority hate the new layout I can't believe they still keep it.
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|Similar problem here. The "new" Betanews layout is pestilent. We complained and sent feedback, but betanews staff kept this ugly cluttered layout....
I guess ads became more important than users lately..
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|no big deal.
facebook was founded by a whiner.
so it knows how to deal with the rest of them.
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|I personally don't have a problem with the new layout. *shrug*
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|If you are like me and tired of all the whining about the new layout (even if you don't like it), there is a place to vent.
http://www.facebook.com/...=60278919703&ref=nf
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|The funny thing is that that group on facebook only has 2 members! Makes a statement imo...
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|What this comes down to is that Facebook is soooo big now and the head of the stinking fish thinks his sh^t doesn't stink anymore. "We're Facebook, who-tf are you?" Someone sounds like they have some pe....oops, Twitter envy.
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|It wouldnt be a problem if they would give you the option to switch back to classic view. Thats all they would need to do to keep people happy. Then those who want to try out the new view can and those who want to stay at the old view can. Every site I have ever belonged to that did changes like that always gave the option to use the classic view.
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|Hi Fuimusbruce -- I agree in theory, though you'd be amazed how complicated it actually is to offer the opportunity to dynamically reconfigure or to offer full rollback. Ads placement alone is a nightmare. That said, I will as mentioned be personally quite happy to have some configuration options there under Highlights. Without getting into details, I'm having a week where it is particularly important to me not to be flooded with silly irrelevant stuff on, specifically, Facebook.
BTW, it has to be kind of wonderful for Facebook to see how strongly folks are reacting (even if only in the "it's wonderful to have a headache; it proves you still have a head" sense). You don't that worked up about things you don't care about, and clearly many folks care very much about their Facebook experience. When's the last time you heard this kind of fussing over Friendster's layout? :-)
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|Stumbleupon tried the "keep the classic look" functionality, but eventually, they had to bring everyone into the fold of the new style (because it was causing some major backend problems)... and given the userbase for FB, I have a feeling that they would be forced to put everyone on the same page sooner rather than later.
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|It would be nice if they focused more on application quality control of some sort. Ditch the stupid invite crap, etc. I like the new newsfeed... but I could do without the highlights and what not.
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|the problem with these sites is that they turn themselves into big business and in the process lose themselves, the users are no longer important, the numbers are, its kind of like digg, they don't even have the time to throw up a 'forum' for its users, although its something they want to do...
i mean come on :P
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|I'm not a fan of the new layout/look as well. What I hate the most is you get comfortable with the layout etc. so you get pretty good at finding the information you want etc. then boom they switch it all around and now you have to learn a new way of doing things.
This is the second or third time Facebook does this, I wish they would make up their mind.
A bunch of us are starting to look at Orkut. All I'm asking for is some stability :)
I also hate the new betanews layout, information overload. Plus they seem to be slow as hell now.
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|Everyone I've heard from absolutely hates the new Highlights section on the right side of the page. It is a huge waste of space.
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|Yeah, I don't think it's terribly functional in its current form. (What *is* it about the right rail of a Web page that makes so many designers so stupid? Seriously, is it some sort of hemispheric perception problem? Or it is self-reinforcing pigheadedness -- "no one looks at the right rail, so I don't have to make good use of the right rail?") I'm encouraged that they're going to fold some of the News Feed behavior back in, but what I really want is the ability to seriously customize that space. There are 175 million of us; surely it's no harder to develop a customizable page element than to make all of us happy...
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|I didn't see the point of the highlights section at first mainly because the algorithm for putting things there seems totally stupid. However with a few improvements (being able to 'x' away highlights you don't like, better matching algorithms to what you should like), it I think has the potential to be one of the most valuable pieces of real estate. The big thing I want in FB that so far it has done a poor job of providing is an Amazon-like recommendation of things I may be interested in. If it could, it would be a huge win.
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