Normally, there's some criticism from users when Facebook updates its website, and the users eventually get used to the new quirks of the user interface. (In fact, here was a redesign only weeks ago). However, yesterday, when the most recent Facebook redesign and new features went into place, there was even more of a backlash.
Virtually everyone on my Facebook friend list that posted a status update, including myself, were critical of the new layout. In fact, I feel that the changes made were massive changes, and changes that users can no longer customise or have much control over.
The most widely-complained-about change was the inclusion of a new "news and updates ticker", which displays most recent updates in the upper right-hand side of the screen. (I am not sure how this looks on a desktop computer, but on my MacBook Pro, it was difficult to read as it constantly scrolled, scrolled too quickly, and only provided a small window for the displays; virtually this was unreadable to me.) The main area of the news feed has been transformed into an area of 'top news', so many updates are now hidden from view. Now, I like to read my friends' updates; I am unable to log into Facebook regularly, but when I do log in, it's in the evenings, and I catch up on the day's events by browsing through the news feed. I am unable to get onto Facebook during the day. According to Mark Tonkelowitz at Facebook, the updates to the news section with "top news" was to mimic a newspaper with the most popular stories, so that users with varying levels of Facebook usage are clued in to the most 'important' updates (1).
I wonder if this is an attempt by Facebook to ensure that they keep users, as Google+ social network (a new Facebook rival) has been launched. In fact, the Google+ interface looks remarkably simple, and this reminds me of how Facebook used to look years ago. (Google is the expert on simplicity, though, and the reason that Google became more popular than the likes of Yahoo! was down to its simplicity.) In fact, many users wrote on their status updates yesterday, when the changes went into action, that they would be switching to Google+.
I also feel that if Facebook intend on making changes, they should do it slowly and make minor changes, while testing these changes through A/B testing techniques. I feel that this more complex and less-customisable and less usable layout is trying to be too clever, and this is alienating many of its users. (Certainly users should be able to choose and customise what news they want to see - either 'top news' stories or 'most recent'.) Although I have not had much time to play with the new Facebook interface due to working hours and other committments, I am basing much of my feelings on first impressions and feedback from others, and I do feel that changes may have been accepted more positvely (or less negatively) by users if they were not all introduced at once. (I did notice many other new security/privacy-related options under the administration section of Facebook last night, and I am curious to know what else has changed.)
Facebook will be making more changes in the coming months, and I have read rumours of different buttons, similar to the popular "Like" button. They will be releasing more information at their annual conferencem, which takes place today (22nd September).
I predict that Google+ may be increasingly popular. It's done well in the search arena, and I believe that this, coupled with social networking aspect, could become a very powerful tool. Imagine being able to conduct a search and receiving websites that are relevant to you and your interests, or the ability to share interests based on others with similar interests and introducing yourself and your friends to new music/movies/popular culture based on those interests? (It is a little worrying, however, when the web knows so much about you and your interests.) For now, I will wait and see how this plays out, but I do predict that Google+ will be more popular in the future. Let's see!
1) Bates, Daniel and Wraugh, Rob. "Omg it's horrendous! Facebook revamp promps furious user backlash. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2040377/Omg-horrendous-Facebook-revamp-prompts-furious-user-backlash.html?ito=feeds-newsxml [22 September 2011].
Virtually everyone on my Facebook friend list that posted a status update, including myself, were critical of the new layout. In fact, I feel that the changes made were massive changes, and changes that users can no longer customise or have much control over.
The most widely-complained-about change was the inclusion of a new "news and updates ticker", which displays most recent updates in the upper right-hand side of the screen. (I am not sure how this looks on a desktop computer, but on my MacBook Pro, it was difficult to read as it constantly scrolled, scrolled too quickly, and only provided a small window for the displays; virtually this was unreadable to me.) The main area of the news feed has been transformed into an area of 'top news', so many updates are now hidden from view. Now, I like to read my friends' updates; I am unable to log into Facebook regularly, but when I do log in, it's in the evenings, and I catch up on the day's events by browsing through the news feed. I am unable to get onto Facebook during the day. According to Mark Tonkelowitz at Facebook, the updates to the news section with "top news" was to mimic a newspaper with the most popular stories, so that users with varying levels of Facebook usage are clued in to the most 'important' updates (1).
I wonder if this is an attempt by Facebook to ensure that they keep users, as Google+ social network (a new Facebook rival) has been launched. In fact, the Google+ interface looks remarkably simple, and this reminds me of how Facebook used to look years ago. (Google is the expert on simplicity, though, and the reason that Google became more popular than the likes of Yahoo! was down to its simplicity.) In fact, many users wrote on their status updates yesterday, when the changes went into action, that they would be switching to Google+.
I also feel that if Facebook intend on making changes, they should do it slowly and make minor changes, while testing these changes through A/B testing techniques. I feel that this more complex and less-customisable and less usable layout is trying to be too clever, and this is alienating many of its users. (Certainly users should be able to choose and customise what news they want to see - either 'top news' stories or 'most recent'.) Although I have not had much time to play with the new Facebook interface due to working hours and other committments, I am basing much of my feelings on first impressions and feedback from others, and I do feel that changes may have been accepted more positvely (or less negatively) by users if they were not all introduced at once. (I did notice many other new security/privacy-related options under the administration section of Facebook last night, and I am curious to know what else has changed.)
Facebook will be making more changes in the coming months, and I have read rumours of different buttons, similar to the popular "Like" button. They will be releasing more information at their annual conferencem, which takes place today (22nd September).
I predict that Google+ may be increasingly popular. It's done well in the search arena, and I believe that this, coupled with social networking aspect, could become a very powerful tool. Imagine being able to conduct a search and receiving websites that are relevant to you and your interests, or the ability to share interests based on others with similar interests and introducing yourself and your friends to new music/movies/popular culture based on those interests? (It is a little worrying, however, when the web knows so much about you and your interests.) For now, I will wait and see how this plays out, but I do predict that Google+ will be more popular in the future. Let's see!
1) Bates, Daniel and Wraugh, Rob. "Omg it's horrendous! Facebook revamp promps furious user backlash. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2040377/Omg-horrendous-Facebook-revamp-prompts-furious-user-backlash.html?ito=feeds-newsxml [22 September 2011].
Couldn't have said it better myself.