While tuning into a few quick Q&A interviews after the official Facebook F8 keynote, I managed to catch one very alarming point: Timelines, the huge new Facebook feature, is meant to completely replace our Facebook profiles. This means that the entire user interface will be scrapped and taken over by timelines.
For many who have already grown accustomed to the very familiar Facebook wall or the way photos are currently displayed etc, this new revelation might come as a bit of a shock. Originally, I believed Timelines would simply be an additional feature to Facebook’s current UI recipe, something I definitely could have lived with. Now knowing how drastically different Facebook’s appearance will be across my central user experience, however, leaves me at a loss.
The new timelines could potentially cause problems.
Being something of a social media nut, this is the sort of update that would normally please me. Personally, I enjoy being able to tinker around with new social toys, and timelines are just the ticket. I would have preferred, however, that timelines served as an additional feature rather than the main dish. There are others who agree and are currently bemoaning the new changes and spouting off about the downfall of Facebook, perhaps prematurely guessing that the extreme UI makeover will be rejected by the majority.
One downside is that those of us who aren’t so tech-savvy (some of our parents, for example) might not understand how to use the new timelines, which could obviously become a huge problem. For me, Facebook is one of the major lines of communication that I use to keep in touch with both family in the States as well as kin overseas, and this massive makeover might just be a bit too much.
That said, we’re leaving this one to our readers. What do you think about Timelines potentially taking over your entire Facebook profile? Understanding that your wall will look completely different, does this make you excited about the changes, apprehensive, or unaffected overall? Let us know by voting in our Facebook poll.
Also, be sure to check out all of our F8 coverage, as well as our roundup for the main keynote.
How profiles currently look:
Here’s how all profiles will look in the future:




















I can't see the normal appearance of my fb account.. this just started when I started to use timeline.. I was just uploading my new cover photo and it turned out like this .. I can't even view some applications because of this.. I don't know what to do with my fb account.
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Likefacebook fangrate is very helpful especially when you want to market your company business
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LikeWow Sherilynn, you sure are hot for a tech writer.
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LikeLol. Jonas Schreiber
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LikeI'm totally friending you next time I have a minute. Sherilynn Macale
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Likewhen is everyone seeing these changes?
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LikeI agree with Ed. I believe it is an incredibly innovative execution from the fb team. They are constantly focused on how to make the human social experience online better and better. Some people hate scrapbooks and some hate iphoto library slideshows, but they are both great at the end of the day because they have captured moments in time that can be enjoyed at a later date. If users can't adapt to the new layout over a few weeks, then I believe they wouldn't exist in social media anyhow.
Thanks for the post!
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Likereminds me of: Tracks, Path and The Lynx Stream
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Like....
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LikeI think the new profile looks gorgeous. However, Facebook has seen a lot of growth with the elders. For instance, my 54 year old mom barely got to know how to handle the current Facebook. I think they should give people the option to keep their old profile for a little while, until they are ready for the change.
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LikeCheri - I think people need to get over it...after a few weeks of using the new format, everyone that complained will get used to it and forget about the old profile. It's a free service and we have bigger world problems, than to worry about how using Facebook is gonna affect our lives, IMHO! LOL... ;-)
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LikeIf the time-line is how other people see my profile then this may not even affect me as a user since I don't usually watch my own profile that much. But personally I don't feel comfortable sharing so much info with just anyone.
Yes the world is social ... but privacy is getting more and more lost. I understand that for Facebook this is cool ... but for the users this isn't.
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LikeAs I posted on my Facebook earlier today:Attention Facebook complainers: If you don't like change there is a site called MySpace that hasn't changed since 2003. Please migrate your whinge traffic to their servers instead. Thank you.
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LikeFuzzy Wuggle LOL.
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LikeIt is a sad day indeed. I'm so glad I completely deleted my account over a year ago.
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LikeAnd what about pages? Will they have this layout? Seems odd to me.
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LikeI always thought profiles on facebook looked boring, i really love this new look, too bad if the elderly can't handle it! Can't wait for it! G+ must come up with something...Facebook is putting up a good fight!
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Like@Gabriel Pudiza
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LikeYes and I think it looks gorgeous!
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Like