If yesterday’s reactions to changes on Facebook seemed over-the-top, wait until the profile redesign kicks in. At the F8 developer’s conference today, Mark Zuckerberg announced a few new features, but not before an homage to (or rip-off of?) Steve Jobs, the man who made CEO technology announcements into events worth watching. The Facebook founder was preceded onstage today by Saturday Night Live comedian Andy Samberg, in full Zuckerberg costume, who ran through an awfully unfunny monologue, not unlike actor of the moment Noah Wyle did at Apple’s Macworld back in 1999. Then the real Zuck got to the stuff guaranteed to make a bunch of Facebook fans flip: Timeline, which might as well be called Forever Facebook.
Zuckerberg described Timeline as “the whole story of your life in a single page.” Gone are the days of the basic profile with just a name and a photo; Timeline collects everything you’ve ever done on Facebook and makes it easy to browse. That means all the embarrassing photos, relationship updates, wall posts, and status messages will be classified neatly for everyone to see. Or in Zuckerspeak: “All your stories, all your apps, and a new way to express who you are.” As an example, Zuckerberg showed onscreen everything he cooked in the month of September, as cataloged on Facebook. (The bison burgers were “delicious.”)
Just how much is ultimately displayed will be customizable, but that’s bound to take a while for everyone to figure out. On your marks, get set … stalk.
Tell Your Story with Timeline [Facebook]
