Timeline: A Storybook of Your Life
This week, Facebook is rolling out its new Timeline, arguably the largest overhaul to Facebook’s design since its inception in 2004.
Facebook Timeline has been in beta testing since September, and after finally resolving a legal conflict, it’s being made available to its estimated 800 million users.
Timeline provides a storybook of each user’s life - since they signed up for Facebook all the way through present day (here's hoping that picture of you bonging beers in college was untagged!). You can even go back to fill in notable events in your past. In fact, some dates- like your birth and high school graduation- are already set up in your Timeline.
The first change you notice on the new Timeline layout is the cover photo. Facebook wanted to give you yet another way to tell your unique story and help your friends learn more about you. Be aware that choosing this image is tricky. To guarantee that your cover is not a pixelated mess, it needs to be at least 720 pixels.
As you scroll down the Timeline, you are presented with the most recent activity. Facebook also added navigation on the righthand side that allows you to see archived activity from the past (this is where that picture of you bonging a beer in college, comes into play).
Instead of just the typical status updates, photos and places check-ins, Facebook now allows you to add ‘life events.’ Started a new job? Bought a new house? Got a new tattoo? Now Facebook lets you share that moment with your friends, adding details of where you were, who you were with and more.
Timeline features closer integration with apps as well. You will be able to share with other users as you’re watching your favorite show on Hulu , listening to a song on Spotify or reading a story on Yahoo News.
What does all this mean for brands with Pages on Facebook? Facebook hasn’t announced whether or not the Timeline layout will be implemented on brand Pages, but, as always, great content is key. You need to have content that people want to feature on their Timeline and share with others.
As users transition to the new Facebook Timeline, there will inevitably be supporters... and naysayers (prepare for a lot of ‘I hate the new Facebook!’ status updates). As privacy is always a hot topic with Facebook redesigns, we recommend brushing up on the new privacy settings to determine what is and isn’t shared on your Timeline.
This certainly won’t be the final Facebook rollout, but here is to hoping this redesign will last seven years like its predecessor - R.I.P Facebook Wall.
Tara Nesbitt is the Online Marketing Intern at Atomicdust. She helps us develop content strategy, manage social media accounts, and pick out new Warby Parker glasses.
