Nicole Ferraro Facebook Responds to Redesign Feedback Written by Nicole Ferraro 3/25/2009 4 comments no ratings * Rate It * Save It DISCUSS Digg Del.icio.us Reddit Email This Responding to vehement, snarky, and often illegible feedback from its user community about its redesign, Facebook has responded in a blog, detailing how it intends to mend fences, and restating its purported dedication to listening to user feedback. Facebook developer Christoper Cox outlines what Facebook claims are the "top four things we've been hearing from all of you about the changes" -- including the need to add more control and relevance to the update stream; the desire for more "Highlights," or the new sidebar demonstrating what your friends are up to; and the ability to find things more easily -- a critical request, as the new Facebook, many think, is nearly impossible to navigate. Cox also notes that many users have requested a return to the old version of Facebook, but that the new version's purpose is to "present the right balance between what's happening right now and what's interesting over a longer period of time." And the site will continue to work hard "to make this stream more valuable, and also to build out the richness and relevance of the Highlights section." Some of the upcoming changes Cox notes, without citing specific rollout dates, seem positive; some seem unnecessary; and others could quite possibly make things much more annoying. Examples: Live updating: We will be adding the ability to turn on auto updating in the near future so you no longer need to refresh the page. [Uh. Three cheers for championing crippling laziness?] Photo tags: In order to surface more photos you might like to see, we'll be adding photos tagged of your friends to the stream. [Wow. More clutter. Just what we needed. Thanks.] More choices for applications: We will be giving you tools to control and reduce application content that your friends share into your stream. [Great for us... perhaps not so great for your business model, but, hey, who cares about that!?] Above all, this response fits nicely into Facebook's latest attempt to reposition itself as a company that cares, perhaps too deeply, about what its users think. In related news, Facebook has hired a public policy director -- Timothy D. Sparapani, a senior attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union -- who will join the team next month and help (they hope) quiet some of the ongoing complaints over infringements on user privacy. As Facebook spokeswoman Meredith Chin told Internet Evolution last week, rather than weighing in on the Facebook Redesign poll application recently making headlines, the best way for irate users to submit feedback is via a feedback link included in the site's homepage tour. This point is reiterated in Cox's blog -- sort of an indirect suggestion that, much like the other passive activities you engage in on Facebook (by the way... joined our group yet?), responding to a third-party poll will get you nowhere. ? Nicole Ferraro, Site Editor, Internet Evolution Channel: Consumer Internet, Personalization & privacy, Web 2.0 Tags: Blogs, Social Networking DISCUSS Digg Del.icio.us Reddit Email This Comments Current display: newest comments first display in chronological order cbrown Re: *Another* user revolt? cbrown IQ Crew Thursday March 26, 2009 5:54:37 PM no ratings * Rate It * Save It "A redesign of Facebook from time to time is perhaps a way to renew Facebook and give users a feeling it's not too "outdated" as long as they don't overdo it at once." ebay knows how to do this! At first glance, you would think eBay's site has changed very little over the years, but if you were to compare today's site side-by-side with a screenshot from a few years ago, it would look quite different...yet still familiar. Start your Own Board Messages List | Post a Message | Reply viboons Re: *Another* user revolt? viboons Researcher Thursday March 26, 2009 4:16:53 PM no ratings * Rate It * Save It It's quite normal that people would react (or over-react) to the site everytime Facebook makes major changes. But after a while, few would still remember what an old Facebook page used to look like. A redesign of Facebook from time to time is perhaps a way to renew Facebook and give users a feeling it's not too "outdated" as long as they don't overdo it at once. Start your Own Board Messages List | Post a Message | Reply Nicole Ferraro Re: *Another* user revolt? Nicole Ferraro IQ Crew Thursday March 26, 2009 4:10:07 PM no ratings * Rate It * Save It I agree. Facebook can bill itself as democratic all it wants, but the fact is if it actually cared about what its users thought, it would maybe ask them beforehand. If it's going to do what it wants and stick with it, that's one thing. Go for it. You're in charge. But if they're going to make changes, only to then ask what the users think, and thennn go back and fix their mistakes... ugh. Waste of time to say the least. I don't think they know what they're doing at all. Start your Own Board Messages List | Post a Message | Reply cbrown *Another* user revolt? cbrown IQ Crew Thursday March 26, 2009 11:47:46 AM no ratings * Rate It * Save It I've come to the conclusion that Facebook's business planning tool is a weathervane. For a company that's all about user participation, user-generated content and feedback, they have an astonishing lack of understanding of their audience. This latest revolt, like all the others, could have easily been predicted and prevented. Start your Own Board Messages List | Post a Message | Reply The ThinkerNet does not reflect the views of Techweb. The blogs and comments are the opinions only of the writers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.

Responding to vehement, snarky, and often illegible feedback from its user community about its redesign, Facebook has responded in a blog, detailing how it intends to mend fences, and restating its purported dedication to listening to user feedback.

Facebook developer Christoper Cox outlines what Facebook claims are the "top four things we've been hearing from all of you about the changes" -- including the need to add more control and relevance to the update stream; the desire for more "Highlights," or the new sidebar demonstrating what your friends are up to; and the ability to find things more easily -- a critical request, as the new Facebook, many think, is nearly impossible to navigate.

Cox also notes that many users have requested a return to the old version of Facebook, but that the new version's purpose is to "present the right balance between what's happening right now and what's interesting over a longer period of time." And the site will continue to work hard "to make this stream more valuable, and also to build out the richness and relevance of the Highlights section."

Some of the upcoming changes Cox notes, without citing specific rollout dates, seem positive; some seem unnecessary; and others could quite possibly make things much more annoying. Examples:

Live updating: We will be adding the ability to turn on auto updating in the near future so you no longer need to refresh the page. [Uh. Three cheers for championing crippling laziness?]

Photo tags: In order to surface more photos you might like to see, we'll be adding photos tagged of your friends to the stream. [Wow. More clutter. Just what we needed. Thanks.]

More choices for applications: We will be giving you tools to control and reduce application content that your friends share into your stream. [Great for us... perhaps not so great for your business model, but, hey, who cares about that!?]

Above all, this response fits nicely into Facebook's latest attempt to reposition itself as a company that cares, perhaps too deeply, about what its users think. In related news, Facebook has hired a public policy director -- Timothy D. Sparapani, a senior attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union -- who will join the team next month and help (they hope) quiet some of the ongoing complaints over infringements on user privacy.

As Facebook spokeswoman Meredith Chin told Internet Evolution last week, rather than weighing in on the Facebook Redesign poll application recently making headlines, the best way for irate users to submit feedback is via a feedback link included in the site's homepage tour. This point is reiterated in Cox's blog -- sort of an indirect suggestion that, much like the other passive activities you engage in on Facebook (by the way... joined our group yet?), responding to a third-party poll will get you nowhere.

? Nicole Ferraro, Site Editor, Internet Evolution