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KristineS
09-22-2011, 12:46 PM
Those of you that use Facebook, what do you think of the new changes? Ever since Facebook started rolling them out, all I've seen is a lot of whining about how horrible the changes are. Personally, I can't say I'm delighted, but they don't screw up the functionality that much, and I can still use Facebook in the ways that I need to use it. Is anybody really offended or put off by the new changes? Or are most users pretty indifferent?

AllCeasonsDesign
09-22-2011, 01:37 PM
All that I have been seeing is a lot of whinning about how bad it it. I am an avid Facebooker and I am indifferent to the changes. They dont seem to mess up the reasons I use it. So far I dont really care too much.

Then again, I am not very technologically savy, so there is probably something that changed that I am missing.

Spider
09-22-2011, 03:45 PM
Just heard on CNBC - that use of Facebook in the USA is a lot less than the rest of the world, and while US users are generally complaining, users in other counties are generally loving the changes. So, whine away, USA - Facebook doesn't care! Nor should they!

vangogh
09-22-2011, 07:53 PM
Most sites that reports usage statistics for Facebook by country (http://www.nickburcher.com/2011/04/facebook-usage-statistics-1st-april.html) show that there are far more users of Facebook in the US than any other country. Maybe CNBC was comparing the US to every other country combined, but the US is still the country with the most Facebook users by a wide margin. I'm guessing the US contributes a rather large amount of the advertising dollars that Facebook calls revenue too.

Spider
09-23-2011, 12:25 AM
Yes - that's what they said and what I quoted -- "the use of Facebook in the USA is a lot less than the rest of the world." By the figures you noted, the USA represents 40% of users, the rest of the world represent 60% of users.

vangogh
09-23-2011, 01:23 AM
Yes I realize that. I'm saying it's not really a useful comparison. "The use of Facebook in (pick any country) is a lot less than the rest of the world." Not exactly meaningful when any country on the planet can be substituted. The only thing the statement is saying is that no single country makes up more than 50% of Facebook users.

You made the comment that Facebook shouldn't care about the US based on it accounting for less than 50% of all Facebook users. By the same logic Facebook shouldn't care about any country since no country makes up more than 50% of the total users of the site.

Also there's no indication it's only people in the US complaining while the rest of the world is loving the changes. People are both complaining about the changes and happy with them around the world. So instead of taking cheap shots at the US how about discussing the actual changes Facebook made, which is what this thread is about.

vangogh
09-23-2011, 02:12 AM
what do you think of the new changes?

Which changes do you mean. Facebook made some changes to the way friend lists work to make them function a little more like the circles Google+ introduced. Most people seem to have liked the change though some say it's not as simple as it could be to set up and use. The reaction has generally seemed positive.

More recent is the change to the Facebook news feed. The complaints are generally that Facebook is making the determination about what users should find important instead of letting them decide for themselves. If I understand right people can flag or unflag items to help train the system. People have a tendency to criticize change in general and change at Facebook in particular. Facebook for their part has usually pushed things further than they really intend, wait for the backlash, and pull back a little to appease people. That way they can push the envelope as far as possible with most changes. People are upset at first, but then feel better after the pullback. It's been Facebook's MO for a long time.

greenoak
09-25-2011, 07:54 AM
on my personal page, im having trouble seeing all the folks i used to see....and i cant understand where everything is.....i dont like it ..i will be interested in the timeline....i doubt if i have time to mess with google + unlessi start hearing aboutit in my networking with customers and suppliers...
. for the business page i dont see any changes yet.... our page is still growing so fast...i hope it doesnt change too much... ...we passed 1800 likes a few weeks ago!!!! so im pretty happpy with it.. i hear about it , in the store, all the time...

KristineS
09-26-2011, 11:24 AM
They added streaming timeline, Vangogh, and did the thing with the selecting the important stories for the user, as you said. There's supposed to be more changes coming too. So far I haven't been too put out by what they've done, but I might not have gotten the full impact yet. They tend to roll these things out in stages.

vangogh
09-26-2011, 04:03 PM
Yep. I noticed that after first replying to this thread. I've been collecting a few links about it to post in this thread. I've been seeing the same mixed response that most Facebook changes get. Some people love the new changes and some people fear it's the end of the world as we know it. Having seen a few screenshots I have to say timeline looks really nice. I understand where Facebook is trying to go with this and I can see where many people will embrace this changes. I can also see the other side and how this erodes privacy even more.

It looks like Facebook wants to be the place where we all chronicle our lives and Facebook wants the chronicling to happen as automatically as possible. For example by connecting to certain radio services Facebook will automatically show whatever song you're listening to on the radio service. Facebook is going to provide controls so you don't have to automate everything, but their leaving full automation on by default and burying controls enough so that most people will never veer from the default. I can see pros and cons to both, though I suspect what will ultimately happen is people will simply get used to how it works.

Here are some of the articles I've collected:

It’s Raining Updates in Facebookland: Sharing, Privacy and More (http://web.appstorm.net/general/app-news/its-raining-updates-in-facebookland-sharing-privacy-and-more/)
The Evolution of the Facebook Profile (http://web.appstorm.net/general/app-news/the-evolution-of-the-facebook-profile/)
Introducing Timeline (from Facebook's site) (https://www.facebook.com/about/timeline)
Facebook unveils ‘new kind of social app’ with new verbs like Read, Watch, and Listen (http://thisismynext.com/2011/09/22/facebook-social-app/)
Editorial: Facebook’s new sharing is anything but ‘frictionless’ (http://thisismynext.com/2011/09/25/facebook-frictionless-sharing-timeline-panopticon/)

I'm pretty sure this will go the same way most changes at Facebook go. We'll get the mix of love and passionate complaints for a few weeks and then everyone will just get used to using whatever Facebook has done. Some will leave for other social spaces and new people will join because they like the changes.

KristineS
09-28-2011, 12:38 PM
It looks like Facebook wants to be the place where we all chronicle our lives and Facebook wants the chronicling to happen as automatically as possible. For example by connecting to certain radio services Facebook will automatically show whatever song you're listening to on the radio service. Facebook is going to provide controls so you don't have to automate everything, but their leaving full automation on by default and burying controls enough so that most people will never veer from the default. I can see pros and cons to both, though I suspect what will ultimately happen is people will simply get used to how it works.


Have to say, I hate the automated stuff and turn it off whenever possible. I don't see the point of things like "I'm listening to x song" or "I just liked this video on YouTube". To me that sort of stuff just clutters up the timeline. I want to have interaction and conversation. I think that's why I don't get the appeal of FourSquare either. If I care enough about something, I'll share the link myself.

vangogh
09-28-2011, 01:20 PM
I feel the same way. It's one reason I don't spend much, if any, time on Facebook. You and I come from a different generation though. If you look around you'll find lots of people who like and want these changes. Generations behind us are growing up with the assumption that anything they do online is going to be a matter of public record. I'm like you and value privacy, but the reality is a lot of privacy is being eroded.

Facebook seems to be burying the settings to let you control what is and isn't shared and recently there's been some talk about how they're still tracking you across the web even after you sign out of Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg has made it clear he doesn't believe in privacy on the web and is consistently pushing Facebook in that direction.

Having said the above I've been looking at Facebook a little more the last week or so to see if some of the recent changes make my experience with the site better. I've started to organize friends and family into lists in order to better follow them. Still no interaction from me though. I am curious to see the timeline when it reaches me. I'm not going to sign up for it now. I'll wait till it hits the masses.

Outside of the privacy concerns I think the changes are pretty good and as long as I feel like I can control what is and isn't shared I'm probably ok with the privacy stuff for now. Of course Facebook has shown it has no problem sharing in the future what you're telling them now you don't want to share so I doubt I'd ever trust them fully or do too much sharing.

greenoak
09-28-2011, 10:16 PM
i will be watching grandma mary for page changes.... havent seen any yet.....

vangogh
09-29-2011, 03:16 AM
Ann who's grandma mary?

I found a couple more articles that I thought people might find interesting. The first from Read, Write, Web is The Pros & Cons of Frictionless Sharing (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/frictionless_sharing_pros_cons.php). It talks about the automatic sharing of things as you go about your business on the web. By default when you agree to install certain apps on Facebook they'll automatically share what you do in your timeline or news feed. For example several music sites will now share everything you listen to without you manually sharing anything.

There are options to control this sharing, but Facebook usually buries these a little bit and realistically most people will never change the defaults. It's a good article. I agree that most people will like frictionless sharing and in time won't think anything of it. The cons though can be a bit alarming, which brings me to the next post.

It's from Adrian Short and is titled It’s the end of the web as we know it (http://adrianshort.co.uk/2011/09/25/its-the-end-of-the-web-as-we-know-it/) and Adrian doesn't feel fine. The article begins with some general thoughts about what it means to own your domain, your real estate on the web as compared to renting space on someone else's domain or using only free space on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

The last of these is a problem due in large part to how Facebook is now tracking us all. For example the Like button on sites seems pretty simple. You click it to like something and share it on your wall. However Facebook uses cookies that never expire so now just visiting a site with a like button means they're tracking your visit on any web page with that button or with Facebook comments or with anything Facebook added.

I agree that all this tracking is unsettling, though at the same time I don't think it's going to change. I know many will argue that if you don't want it tracked then you shouldn't be doing it, but it's really not that simple. There are legitimate reasons for visiting sites that you don't want others to know about. However we may no longer have that option in the not too distant future.

greenoak
09-29-2011, 10:52 AM
shes a member here..she joined after i mentioned her a few months back......her facebook is really nice and shes the co author of the new facebook for dummies....i believe her real name is andrea vahl..... you can put her name in the search on facebook and check her out........ shes full of info and has lots of good links and lots of followers....she puts a lot of links to social media examiner, which i use a lot too....she uses facebook for marketing .

vangogh
09-29-2011, 11:31 AM
Thanks Ann. I'm pretty sure you've mentioned her name before and probably have said who she is as well, but I couldn't remember at all. :)

KristineS
09-29-2011, 11:35 AM
I feel the same way. It's one reason I don't spend much, if any, time on Facebook. You and I come from a different generation though. If you look around you'll find lots of people who like and want these changes. Generations behind us are growing up with the assumption that anything they do online is going to be a matter of public record. I'm like you and value privacy, but the reality is a lot of privacy is being eroded.


It isn't so much the privacy thing for me as it is the fact that those sorts of Tweets and posts are so useless really. I will click a link if someone recommends something, but I won't if it's just an automated Tweet or post. I guess I like the personal touch more.

vangogh
09-29-2011, 12:09 PM
I think most of the content on Facebook is much more personal. For most people Facebook is about sharing their lives with the world. Sure it's a lot of mundane stuff, but that's what most of us share with each other offline too. It's no different than a phone call where you ask how was your day and then get a response. With Facebook you don't have to ask the question in advance.

Twitter also has real recommendations and other conversation. A lot of it depends on who you follow.

Again both you and I tend to use both sites more around business than the personal, which is why we might see less of the personal side of both services. Most people aren't using the sites the way we are.

nophin
09-30-2011, 12:49 PM
Speaking of changes can someone chime in on the SSL for fan pages. I'm hearing all fan pages that have iframes must have SSl by Oct.1

greenoak
09-30-2011, 05:47 PM
well sure facebook is for personal for your personal page....but my business page is all about selling and getting the customers to come to the store, not so much about anything personal. our store is kind of perfect for facebook about 90 % of our fans are women and they use facebook a lot......many /most of our men customers over 40 laugh at facebook...but we dont care...their wives are the buyers...mostly....
...i just talked to a real popular local resturant and she loves hers too...she puts her soup menu on everyday and said it saves her 20 or 30 phone calls each day that used to call asking what the soup was .... its a great tool for some of us...
nophin, grandma mary talked about the ssl details today....its down about 4 posts..on her facebook page....
ann
.

vangogh
10-01-2011, 01:59 AM
Ann I just meant that the majority of people use Facebook for personal stuff. There are certainly people who have business pages, but the majority of Facebook users are there for the personal. Even the people who are fans of your page are probably still on Facebook mostly to connect with family and friends.

greenoak
10-01-2011, 08:28 AM
for sure,,,,, and we want our pages to fit into that.... we want our page to be a welcome part of the morning surf..

vangogh
10-01-2011, 12:03 PM
Oh definitely. Good strategy to be part of everyone's morning.