Timeline for all?
Posted: Tuesday 14 February, 2012
Jessica Ward
Rumour has it that Facebook will be rolling out Timeline in the coming weeks for every user profile, replacing the look and feel of our Facebook pages as we've come to know and love them.
For many, Timeline has been a much welcomed change. However, at the same time, the idea of enabling friends and colleagues to see what we were doing several years ago certainly isn’t to everyone’s tastes. Many early adopters of the Timeline layout have also indicated that it feels more clunky and messy in the way information and images are displayed. However, it is also important to keep in mind that Facebook will almost always see a certain level of resistance whenever it makes changes to the way so many users interact with each other. That said, for some reason the latest Timeline layout reminds me of the look and feel that MySpace changed to in 2008/2009. A change which put many users off using the service altogether. Whether Facebook will see a similar fallout as a result of these changes remains to be seen.
Of course, the big question is: how will the rollout of Timeline affect brand pages and how will brands react? Will the rollout of Timeline impact engagement figures? Perhaps only time will tell. Nevertheless, some may see the change as a positive move, with the introduction of a large cover photo suitable for the promotion of products, or simply a better way to showcase the logo and visual identity of the brand. Any tagged or added photos also appear larger on the Timeline than they currently do on the Facebook wall, so this may also be a much welcomed bonus. Others may see it as negative, or some may think it may not make any difference at all. It’s hard to pinpoint just exactly how beneficial Timeline would be for brand pages, however, one thing’s for sure, brands should already be planning and anticipating such changes to ensure they are in a good position to react if they do arrive.
Some of my favourite ways users have been using Timeline so far – http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/creative-facebook-timeline-covers/
What do you think to Facebook’s new Timeline layout?
