The New (New (New (etc.))) Facebook

[Wind Swept]

Foreheadception!

[Jayelle]

I have accepted every facebook change up until this point with a smile and a nod and a "It'll take a couple days to get used to, but it's okay."

This one hurts my brain. I cannot figure it out, I feel like it's not showing me things. I want to stab it in the face.

[starlooker]

YES.

This one makes me go

[Caspian]

Google+ !!! It's like Facebook but it's NOT Facebook!

[steph]

Google+ !!! It's like Facebook but it's NOT Facebook!

I have lots of friends and family that are talking about coming over to Google+. It's about darn time. (I invited them months ago!)

[Ela]

Same here, steph. So far, the only circle of friends with whom I'm actively interacting on G+ are SR forum people.

[VelvetElvis]

I have no strong feelings about the facebook move.

[Platypi007]

If you miss the old "Most Recent" feed you can, for the time being, use the following url: https://www.facebook.com/?sk=app_2915120374 and the homepage will look like it once did (except for the ticker, which you can remove with a script from userscripts if you so desire). It is working as of now, not sure if it will continue to do so forever or what, but for now it works. (Of course if you navigate off that page and then click home you get the new horrible one, but you can bookmark this one and get back there that way.)

Don't ask me what the link is FROM, a friend of mine got it from a friend of his and shared it with me after I spent most of an evening grumping about the new layout (this was after I'd been grumping about FB stuff, then they threw this change at me so it was even worse.) :D

[Gravity Defier]

I have not had this change yet but I've been more annoyed than not with FB for a long time and only use it so much because Circ can get boring.

[Wind Swept]

Having played with the new Timeline and the new News Feed/Ticker combo a bit, I really like them both. Oh, and the new lists and asymmetrical relationships are awesome, as well.

The Timeline makes perusing your Facebook past 1) possible and 2) awesome. I had far too much fun scrolling through the past six years of my life, seeing how many friends I added in a year, how many photos I had taken with close friends, big events that happened, etc. Awesome.

The new News Feed is kicking all the crap, throwaway updates out and making them live in the Ticker. Anything that's only pertinent right now and never again will be in the Ticker alone.

As for the Feed itself, it is a very smart mix of Top Stories and Recent Activity. If I haven't been on since Tuesday, it shows me everything important that happened since Tuesday, then shows me what's happening now. If signed in twenty minutes ago, it shows me anything important that happened in the past twenty minutes, then what's happening now. It's brilliant.

If I'm getting "important" messages from people I don't care about, I hover over their name, hover over "Friends," and banish them to the acquaintances list. Poof, no more of those person until something really big happens in their lives. If I can't remember why I'm friends with someone, I throw them on the Restricted list where they only get Public updates I post—No agonizing about the silly politics and possible hurt feelings that go along with unfriending people.

And Subscribing is great. Subscribing to someone's personal profile feels much more authentic than subscribing to a Facebook Page about that person.

A good week for Facebook.

[Platypi007]

At least someone likes it.

[Luet]

I have no idea how to do or see or use any of the things you are talking about, Chris. Maybe you can give us lessons one how to attempt to enjoy the new FB.

[starlooker]

I have no idea how to do or see or use any of the things you are talking about, Chris. Maybe you can give us lessons one how to attempt to enjoy the new FB.

THIS. VERY THIS.

[LilBee91]

Yes. What is this timeline thing of which you speak?

[VelvetElvis]

I haven't seen fb today, but I don't remember a change announced.

[Young Val]

Yesterday, mine hadn't changed at all. Today, there's something called a "ticker" on the right side-bar. But that's it. I can still access my Top News Feed and my Most Recent. None of the changes Chris describes have taken place for me yet.

[Wind Swept]

The Timeline was announced yesterday and is currently available if you're signed up as a Platform Developer. It told me when it was rolling out for everyone else, but I didn't bother to actually remember what the date was. There is a video about it and a preview thingy of what it will look like here. There's also a big long blog post about it here.

ETA: As for the News Feed, there's a blog post here with a little video at the end that explains the new News Feed and Ticker. There also blog posts on the improved Friend Lists and the Subscribe button.

[Luet]

The only thing different about mine so far is that instead of just having a straight line of "most recent" from most current to oldest, there is a section of "recent stories" that stops at some point and then a section of "top stories" with a little blue triangle (LBT!) in the corner, which I guess are picked from people they think I care about more. I just want all the stories from all my friends. That's it. I wish you could choose how you wanted them to list it. But that's the only difference. No tickers or timelines or feeds or whatever.

[Wind Swept]

I just want all the stories from all my friends. That's it. I wish you could choose how you wanted them to list it. But that's the only difference. No tickers or timelines or feeds or whatever.

If you want it to show you all stories in real time, you can put your friends in a list and view that. Your best option is to add the people you want to see everything from to your Top Friends list. You'll be able to click on that list and see everything from those people, and it'll teach the News Feed how to better accomodate you.

[Luet]

How is subscribing different than just seeing newsfeeds?

[Wind Swept]

How is subscribing different than just seeing newsfeeds?

If you friend someone, you both are automatically subscribed to each other—that is, you'll see their posts in your News Feed, and they'll see your posts in their News Feed. That hasn't changed.

However, the Subscribe button allows you to perform a few more variants on that default action, such as:
- You can unsubscribe from someone's posts without unfriending them.
- You can adjust how many of their posts show up in your Feed—All, most, or only when it's something really important
- You can subscribe to the Public posts of people you aren't friends with, if they've turned that feature on

[Luet]

- You can subscribe to the Public posts of people you aren't friends with, if they've turned that feature on

How can you make sure that you don't have this feature turned on?

[Wind Swept]

- You can subscribe to the Public posts of people you aren't friends with, if they've turned that feature on

How can you make sure that you don't have this feature turned on?

If it's NOT turned on, this page will ask if you'd like to turn it on. If it IS turned on, it will tell you as much.

[Platypi007]

I haven't seen fb today, but I don't remember a change announced.

Hahahahahahaha, Facebook announce a change? Right.

[Wind Swept]

I haven't seen fb today, but I don't remember a change announced.

Hahahahahahaha, Facebook announce a change? Right.

Haha. Ha. Ha. It's funny because they do announce all their changes several days in advance on their blog and their numerous Facebook Pages. Or in cases like the Timeline, at a huge keynote weeks before the changes are implemented.

[Platypi007]

So the feed is working better for me (actually, it keeps changing how it works, but the way it is right now works for me). I get top stories then a chronological timeline under that, with a link to jump right to it, should I so desire.

[Young Val]

My facebook still hasn't changed at all except for the addition of the ticker. I'm kinda bummed out about it.

[Luet]

What is the ticker? I don't think I have that.

[neo-dragon]

I always seem to be among the last to experience the changes. Ah well.

[Young Val]

I got sick of waiting, so I enabled it following these directions: http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/22/how-to ... -timeline/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's pretty nuts.

But...I think I like it.

[Jayelle]

There's something about the new Facebook that's making it easier to share photos. It's like they want it to be pintrest or something. All these really old images are being unearthed on my feed.

This should probably go in the irrational irritations thread, but I get so annoyed when people repost things without checking if they're true or not first!! A photo of hands in the clouds? Looks kinda photoshopped? THAT'S because it is!! ARGHHH.
Plus there are memes from, like, 5, 6 years ago. I honestly expect that someone is going to post "All Your Base" soon and my friends are going to think it is new and hilarious.

[VelvetElvis]

I saw the hands in the clouds, too. I really hate seeing pictures on fb that aren't of the person, of an event the person attended, or taken by the person. Aren't these silly memes what we have chain emails for?

[Wind Swept]

This should probably go in the irrational irritations thread, but I get so annoyed when people repost things without checking if they're true or not first!! A photo of hands in the clouds? Looks kinda photoshopped? THAT'S because it is!! ARGHHH.
Plus there are memes from, like, 5, 6 years ago. I honestly expect that someone is going to post "All Your Base" soon and my friends are going to think it is new and hilarious.

At best, I immediately unsubscribe to people who post those sorts of things. Often as not I unfriend them.

[Gravity Defier]

I haven't seen any cloud-hands but I'm pretty sure every last family member of mine from NM reposted the rumor about FB starting to charge for the new layout. My reaction, especially after I posted a correction to that rumor and they still posted that crap: "OH MY GOD you people are the stupidest ever and I share blood with you! WHY?!"

[Luet]

Yeah, I'm thankful that my friends and family are fairly intelligent. My mother seems to be the most likely to fall for hoaxes and rumors. I've tried to train her to look things up on snopes before posting and/or forwarding emails.