I Just Discovered That I Have 10 Years Of UX Experience On Facebook
Okay, not really. This is a flashback to what ended up being my first dig at UX: a review of Facebook’s then new layout written at age 14. Adolescent writing errors unedited to preserve authenticity.
The new FB Layout review. (this is for everyone on Facebook)
Some of you may know, I have tagged some friends in a previous note that I was going to write a review of Facebook’s new layout. I would greatly appreciate it if those of you spread the word. The new layout just appeared when I reloaded my browser, so don’t ask me how I got it, because I don’t even know how. I’ve heard from a lot of people that the new layout isn’t good, so I made this a hands-on reivew. I originally planned on writing this tomorrow, but why not start early? Now, let’s begin.
So, I got the new layout and have been playing around with it for sometime. Obviously, it looks different, so there is no reason to ask that.
PROS
The first thing I noticed was a new feature involving tabs. This is available on your profile page. The default tabs are your wall, the info about you, (favorite activities, music and so on), photos, profile boxes, and notes (I think I added notes though). A good thing about this that makes tabs useful is that you can add new tabs to your profile, mainly other apps. For example, I could add the Top Friends app as a tab on my profile, that way, I don’t have to go to Apps, then scroll down to find Top Friends. There are other new stuff like adding badges, which is just a way to share your Facebook info on other sites, as it is stated on the layout :P. I might have to write a separate note on that.
Anyways, one of your default tabs, BOXES, basically, as with all other tabs, removes clutter like applications and quiz boxes, (although you can add some to your profile or move them into the BOXES tab), from your profile page into the BOXES tab, so it gives MUCH more space to read wall posts and what not. Publisher, another feature I like allows you to upload photos, write notes, (which is what I’m using right now to write this review), and allows you to do other things like upload videos and photo albums on to your profile, from your profile home screen, which saves more time. That is on the WALL tab. For NOTES, when you want to publish one, you have an option to show it in short, one line, or the whole note. You can also do this on your posts. Now, although most of you probably don’t notice this, or, for that matter, even care, the box that shows your friends isn’t just going to show people in your largest network. I figured this out because some of my cousins and friends out of state appeared in that box.
For settings, the only thing different is that privacy and account settings are on a list under settings. When you look at each of those pages, it’s the same as the previous layout. There is also a wall filter, which allows you to move posts by others and by you. Another improvement for WALL is that you can browse through older wall posts on the same page and just keep clicking “see older wall posts” until, I guess, it stops. To edit, things, you go to the area where you want to edit, and an icon representing a pen on paper will appear, and you just click that. You can also edit your information such as relationships, hometown, education, personal and other types of information on your profile, so, you will be on the same page when modifying your profile. Requests also appear to be more noticeable due to the decrease in clutter, and another feature allows you to write something about yourself and I don’t mean the ABOUT ME, it’s something I don’t find any use for, but still is something worth playing around with for me. Maybe you readers will find some use of it. Your Inbox and Friends list isn’t really different. Now, I think that covers the pros of the new layout, off to the cons…
CONS
Nothing is perfect, and as with anything, there are going to be some downsides. The new layout, despite the new features, has some cons. Fortunately, there is not really anything major. There are a few things in the old layout that I wished were in the new one, particularly, the buttons under your profile picture such as “View my friends,” View my videos”, and others. The only button under your profile picture is “View photos of me”, maybe there is a way to edit that, but I have no guaranteed answer to that. Also, on the home screen, the PEOPLE YOU KNOW box only displays 2 people instead of three, but it’s not anything horrible. The only thing I can really say is a somewhat important con is that some buttons that were so close together in the previous layout, are scattered throughout the screen, so you’ll probably be going clockwise with your eyes trying to find what you’re looking for, but this is just something that takes a little getting used to, because, well, it’s a new design.
The design also looks like something you would see on a mobile device. I thought for a second, that I was using Facebook on my iTouch. These, of course, shouldn’t be reasons to avoid the new layout. This one is not really a con, but it would have been nice to change the theme of your profile like add a space theme, or some other kind of theme, or, at least be able to change the color of your profile. These, however, don’t show enough for you to avoid the new layout.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I must say, the developers and designers at Facebook really did a great job on the new layout. There are some cons to it, but like I said, they’re generally minor ones, so don’t really mind them when choosing between the old and new layout. You can always go back to the old layout if you want, but I think I’m going to stick with the new one.
SCORE
The layout is new. New things always take a little getting used too. It’s something we have to deal with, so that is not a bad thing. Sadly, I can’t give it a perfect 10, but it certainly does deserve at least a decent score. I would say, this is mainly because everything is pretty much scattered, the lowest I would give it is a 9.1/10. The highest I would give it is a 9.7/10. I don’t have a final score yet, but I will. It will be on my status though, so watch for it if you want a final score.
So, yeah, the new layout is actually pretty nice, not perfect, but good. I hope you enjoyed my review on Facebook’s new layout. I’d be happy if you commented on it, but it really isn’t necessary.
