Take a look at your new Facebook profile page. It's a complete redesign that makes it easier to see who you are, what you like, and who your friends are. I think it's a tremendous improvement.
Like all Facebook updates, this new interface is slowly rolling out for all users, but if you want to take a look at it now, follow this link and click on the green box at the top right. Keep in mind that once you make the change, there's no turning back. But that's okay — I think you're going to like this.
Let's take a tour of the new profile page, and I'll tell you what I think about some of the new features. My favorite is at the top, where right under your name there's a little intro. It includes things people would most like to know about you, such as what you do for a living, where you went to school, where you're from, who you're married to and where you live.
Neat. It pretty much covers the introductory topics of cocktail party conversation, well, not including the weather. This is an excellent change, although I would like to see it a bit more configurable.
If you're looking for those tabs at the top, never fear — they've moved to the left side, so you can click on Info, Photos and Friends and find out everything you need to know.
Take a look at Info, and you'll see there's a more graphical approach to all the items, and now you can see logos or icons for your college and high school, bigger pictures representing your favorite music, books and so forth, and a list of your most often-contacted friends on the left side. There's a couple of new fields such as your favorite sports and people who inspire you.
Another welcome new feature is the ability to list friends who worked with you at different jobs, or have enjoyed activities with you. Keep in mind, though, that when you tag a friend in one of these activities, he or she will be notified. You can also add more detail about each of your interests or activities, such as which classes you're taking at a particular college, or projects you accomplished at work. Some of these features could be even more useful in the work world than LinkedIn.
Back on your wall, sharing is a bit different, where instead of typing something first, you pick what you'd like to share first and then "say something about this link." Then there's a drop-down list letting you decide with whom you'd like to share this particular link, video or pic.
I like the way photos of yourself show up near the top of your profile page, but I would like for those photos to be a bit more configurable. Sure, you can hover your cursor over a picture and click on the X that appears in the upper right corner, deleting that photo from your profile page (it will still be in your "photos" area). Overall, you still have intricate control over your privacy settings — none of those have changed.
Facebook's profile interface update looks cleaner, is more graphical, and is easier to use. Let's hope the rest of the site receives similar improvements soon. How do you like it? Let us know in the comments.
What? You're not on Facebook? Get thee hence and sign up, dear reader! You can thank me later. Keep in mind that our 45-to-65-year-old age group is the fastest-growing demographic on Facebook. Meanwhile, take a look at this video from Facebook that gives you a peek at many of the new features:
