We understand that the last 24 hours have been very stressful for everyone. Facebook looks completely different, there’s new windows, there’s new colors and nobody knows what to do with themselves. Take our word though, this is not a time for uproar and hatred. I just sat through the entire Mark Zuckerberg conference, and the only verdict to make is that Facebook is doing some really, really amazing things. Overwhelmed? Allow us to explain everything.
The Newsfeed
This was the first thing everyone saw when they logged in and realized that Facebook had once again turned our lives upside down. Don’t worry if it’s confusing. Facebook says this is the biggest change they’ve made to the platform since they came up with the idea, so if it looks like one giant cluster-fudge of stuff right now, it’s only because it’s very very new.
The first thing that needs explanation is that random box that has appeared in your upper-right hand corner. The biggest complaint i’ve seen (on my news feed ironically) is that Facebook has cluttered your screen with 2 News Feeds instead of 1. That would be useless and annoying. But as it turns out, useless and annoying is exactly what Facebook is now trying to prevent.
Remember when every time some girl you know commented “awww” on some other girl you know’s “I love you” on her tool Boyfriend’s wall. Instead of all that clogging up your Newsfeed, it’s now been reduced to a tiny little box in the right hand corner. There if you need it, but not taking up valuable real estate. Your Newsfeed will now only be the meat: article shares, pictures, and status updates. Now you can comment on 30 different people’s walls and not annoy your friends, and nobody will annoy you with useless activity either.
Subscriptions
If you’re familiar with Twitter, you already understand the concept of following someone’s updates without necessarily following them back. I follow Katy Perry on Twitter. Does she follow me back? Not yet she doesn’t. But anything she has to say, or more importantly, any hot picture she decides to Tweet, I get to see. Subscriptions are Facebook’s answer to this concept.
Instead of only being able to follow the lives of people who would call you friends, you can now follow the updates of anyone with a Facebook. All they have to do is select “Public” on something they post. For instance, if Katy Perry wants to post something about her new Youtube video, she’s gonna want me (the public) to hear about it. But if Katy Perry is heading out to the Taco Bell down the road from her house at 1:00 AM, chances are she’s only gonna want her friends to know, if anyone. In this case she’ll just hit “Friends” and it will be just like a normal Facebook post. I’ll just hope she hits “Public” by accident.
It doesn’t have to be just limited to “Public” and “Friends” either. You will now be able to separate your friends into lists and you will be able to decide which pieces of information reach which lists. Those who dabbled in Google+ for that one week where it was almost cool will think this sounds familiar to “Circles.” Exactly. The one thing that Google had over Facebook has officially been undercut. You can have a family list, a co-worker list, a random skank list. Whatever degrees of separation you need. You can lead 5 different online lives at the touch of a button.
Social Sharing Apps
Facebook Apps have been around for years, yet somehow have managed to serve no relevant purpose what-so-ever. After today though, it is safe to assume that everything was always heading towards this point. Say goodbye to Farmville and Mafia Wars and say hello to Open Graph Apps. It used to be that when you downloaded an app, you were presented with this makeshift digital contract, essentially stating that if you access this app you had to sign away your soul. From now on Facebook will be integrating apps that you’ll actually want to use, apps that will provide relative information to your friends, and apps that will allow you to determine what is shared.
The apps currently being explored are frickin revolutionary, and we’re on what, day 3? Picture this Spotify fans: that friend you have who knows every band in the world integrates his Spotify with Facebook. He throws on a dope track and he just dug out of that magical dope track mine he has in his backyard, and it will post directly to your ticker. Then all you have to do is click it and it will play for you instantly, through Spotify, directly on your Facebook. It will even aggregate a summary of his activity into accesible information: most played songs, most recent played songs, etc.
The same thing goes for articles and games. You will be able to see what people are currently reading, what they have read recently, what games they are currently playing, and where they are on those games. You can even listen to songs or play games at the same time with friends and interact socially while you do so. Gizmodo says “It’s like having the world’s largest headphone wire.” Basically, everything you do online can now be integrated socially, and shared with your friends and subscribers, on your own terms.
Stay Tuned for More
This is just the beginning. Everything is changing, and some of the already existing changes haven’t even been implemented yet. Check out this video below to find out about the coming soon Personal Timeline changes. More explanation will follow. As soon as I understand it.
