One of the often-overlooked parts of Facebook has been the profile, with a combination of privacy concerns as well as Facebook automatic like and app postings apps to the profile. However, prior to the 2012 IPO Facebook keeps rolling out improvements as well as value added applications to the service. The latest in beta testing is called Timeline. Timing of full release is unknown to due a legal dispute with timelines.com.
This redefining of the personal profile is a significant change. Facebook knows a lot about us. It knows about the crazy party, the time we went on vacation and when we met specific friends. This is the primary source of Facebook power; it is the online service with the most personal data about our lives. Timeline is the vehicle where a user can harness that power.
In another Facebook surprise, Timeline allows users to control what is displayed. (Three cheers for user control over Facebook content!)
- Certain stories can be promoted, they will grab more real estate on the profile. You are not tied to chronological order.
- Stories and posts can easily be deleted from the Timeline.
- If anything is missing, it is easy to add ‘life events’ to the Timeline. The more info you put into the Timeline, the more robust it becomes.
- It is easy to selectively edit the postings that will shape the view of people going forward.
In the past, I’ve written about my favorite iPad app, Flipboard. It appears that the Facebook team has taken the best of Flipboard to create Timeline. Instead of a random scrapbook, Timeline presents our online life as a high-end photo album.
Tell us what you think of Facebook grouping information to tell the story of our lives. Is Timeline a new, exciting way to detail history or is it a creepy way to reveal everything you’ve done in a potentially unnerving way? One thing for sure, anytime Facebook makes a change there will be a cry over privacy concerns.
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