Facebook has unveiled Timeline,
a major re-imagining of user profiles that allows users to build what’s
essentially a visual scrapbook of everything they’ve done on the site.
CEO Mark Zuckeberg showed off the new features in his keynote at the company’s f8 conference. It algorithmically organizes everything you’ve done on Facebook — from post photos to change relationship status to check in — and also allows users to fill out a “Way Back” section to add details that are omitted or pre-date the social network.
CEO Mark Zuckeberg showed off the new features in his keynote at the company’s f8 conference. It algorithmically organizes everything you’ve done on Facebook — from post photos to change relationship status to check in — and also allows users to fill out a “Way Back” section to add details that are omitted or pre-date the social network.
Since the beginning of Facebook, your profile has been the place
where you tell your story. People use it to share everything from the
small stuff, like their thoughts on an article, to the most important
events of their lives, like the photos of their wedding or the birth of
their child.
The evolution of your profile
Back
in the early days of Facebook, your profile was pretty basic – just
your name, a photo, where you went to school…stuff you'd cover in the
first five minutes you met someone.
Over time, your profile evolved to better reflect how you actually
communicate with your friends. Now you can can share photos of what you
did last weekend, and updates about how you feel today.
But
since the focus is on the most recent things you posted, more important
stuff slips off the page. The photos of your graduation get replaced by
updates about what you had for breakfast.
Say you're
catching up with an old friend – would you rather find out that they had
eggs this morning, or hear about their new dream job?
The
way your profile works today, 99% of the stories you share vanish. The
only way to find the posts that matter is to click "Older Posts" at the
bottom of the page. Again. And again.
Imagine if there was an easy way to rediscover the things you shared, and collect all your best moments in a single place.
With timeline, now you have a home for all the great stories you've already shared. They don't just vanish as you add new stuff.
Timeline is wider than your old profile, and it's a lot more visual. The first
thing you'll notice is the giant photo right at the top. This is your
cover, and it's completely up to you which of your photos you put here.
As
you scroll down past your cover, you'll see your posts, photos and life
events as they happened in time. You choose what's featured on your
timeline. You can star your favorites to double their size or hide
things altogether.
Filling in the blanks
If important parts of your story aren't included on your timeline, you can go back to when they happened and add them.
Or
go to your private activity log. This is where you'll find everything
you shared since you joined Facebook. Click on any post to feature it on
your timeline so your friends can see it, too.
When you get your timeline, you can choose to publish it immediately
or take a few days to review what's there and add anything that's
missing.
Now, you and your friends will finally be able to
tell all the different parts of your story – from the small things you
do each day to your biggest moments. What will you create? We can't wait
to find out.
| Posted by Azziet Singh follow me on twitter |