Facebook discusses redesigning its redesign

March 24, 2009 | Eric Eldon | Comments | |

Today, Facebook is responding to criticism about its recent site redesign with some specific descriptions of tweaks intended to make its latest interface more usable. While the scale of dissatisfaction hasn’t been clear, more than 1 million of its 200 million or so users (including a vocal number of VentureBeat readers) have expressed their opposition.

The announcements today don’t indicate a full roll-back to the previous design — a move we didn’t seriously expect, anyway — but rather a number of iterations that should make some new features more accessible to most users.

Perhaps most importantly, Facebook is refining what information appears in a user’s “news feeds” homepage, or what it now calls the “stream.” These streams, which have so far emphasized status updates, will begin showing tagged photos — photos have so far seemed to appear in the “Highlights” section on the right-hand side. Users will also be able to more carefully control information that appears in feeds from users and from third-party applications, which is something we’ve been looking forward to (see Friendfeed for more). And to make the stream constantly interesting (one hopes), real-time updates are coming soon.

Other forthcoming changes include more highlights in the “Highlights” section, a relocation of friend requests and event invites to the top of the right-hand column, and easier ways to create a Friend list filter.

However, the company is sticking by its longtime bottom navigation bar, which has received new emphasis in the redesign and which at least two writers at VentureBeat don’t really like (see screenshot). According to the company blog post by Chris Cox, Facebook’s director of product:

Application bookmarks continue to live in the toolbar at the bottom left of the page. You can quickly access your groups, events and other favorite applications from the bottom bar on any page.

Guess we’ll get used to it. Generally, these problems address a significant portion of issues that many critics (including ourselves) have brought up. If users are to figure out crucial components of the new interface, like how to customize their own streams, limiting them to the information they care about, Facebook needs to make that process as easy as possible.

The company also says that it regularly tests out changes with limited groups — suggesting that the changes are having the intended effect of increasing communication between people, despite the complaints.

Before we launch any new product, it first must pass a process of design, development and testing with a more limited user audience. If those results are satisfactory, we then release it for all of you to use. We know that no amount of testing is as valuable as what you have to say.

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About the Author, Eric Eldon

Eric currently covers digital media technology and business news, especially what's happening on social networks and their platforms. He also writes and edits stories about venture capital, and lots of other stuff, too. He started at VentureBeat in the spring of 2007, half a year or so after Matt Marshall left his reporting job at the San Jose Mercury News to found the site. Eric previously cofounded a startup called Writewith, that was building editorial software for newspapers and other groups of writers. The startup didn't work out, but he learned a lot.

  • theharmonyguy
    I never expected them to revert to the old design either, but I was honestly surprised to see the response to criticisms.

    From the blog post: "We have the eventual goal of building filters that summarize this activity so you can see a more condensed view of what's been going on." I'm still not clear what they meant by that - isn't that exactly what the old News Feed was? And isn't it contradictory to a real-time feed?

    Also interesting: "We're also thinking about ways of filtering out some of the Wall posts and content directed to specific people to focus more on posts shared with everyone." So Facebook is finally moving from more private site for communicating with friends to a more public, FriendFeed/Twitter-like world of broadcasting to everyone. 'Twill be interesting to watch.
  • The service was fine as it was. I'm all for upgrades and evolution but they created an almost new service. It's not the FB folks are used to and enjoy. Too much tinkering. They should take a page from Google and learn that the interface shouldn't change too rapidly.
  • You don't need to actually listen to the users for everything. Try to change them. if you're really right.
  • A Software Product Manager
    One half of one percent of users have (in some way) expressed (some amount) of dissatisfaction with a significant change in user experience? Wow! This surely proves...um...nothing.

    As a FB user, I don't think the new or old layout represents a huge improvement in usability. People will object the loudest to the changes they don't like, and FB will tweak them. This is part of the process in every single piece of user-facing software ever released.

    So what's the news here? That FB updates their product from time to time partly on their own initiative and partly in response to user feedback? Shocking!
  • I do agree that there is some truth in the idea that companies who are bold and not afraid to go against their customers from time to time do end up pioneering some good ideas, however here’s how this is different:

    This isn’t Ford or Apple. Facebook is not selling a product; it’s dealing in the exchange of *our* contributions, *our* data. Facebook doesn’t just make money from us - Facebook is ABOUT us.

    If Facebook wants to abandon what we’re here for and try and be some player in this new microblogging Twitter market, then it should, at very least, retain the important address book/ yearbook functionality in a meaningful way rather than attempt to Steve Jobs’ianly force its will on us by telling us “You don’t really want to connect with old friends… you want to discover new ones in new ways,” - because that would be an incorrect assumption.
  • Paul
    New Coke anyone?
  • the search on the new face book became a lost cause. very hard to find events and groups which I prefer on my home page stream over the updates. I don't think FB'ers were ready for conversation to their updates. seemed to catch them off guard when someone would reply. I did like the expanded details in the blog and video posts.
  • Andrew Ettinger
    FB's new layout it bad for users and by extension bad for advertisers. Microblogging is part and parcel different than social networks. Do not confuse the two (though apparently FB has). Before the status updat was a small part of the UI, now it is almost the entire UI. Crazy lauout will decrease clicks, 3rd party application impressions and ultimately drive more advertisers away. FB make a U turn already!
  • Facebook User
    The thing is: 1) with over 200 million users, for every one that loathes something, there's going to be someone that loves it - for instance, I actually use the bottom navigation bar; and, 2) there are *always* going to be people who resist change because "we've always done it that way." If we listened to them, we'd all be still connecting via Prodigy.
  • Photo tagging (and all other things mentioned) are a nice step but we still need more info that were available before: New friendships (the best way to find new friends joining), photo comments (it is also important to see all comments in the stream), group & Page joining, event participation, application installs. The Highlights section is OK but it is also important to have the above in the stream. Especially new friendships and photo comments!
  • biff
    I despise the new layout but, quite frankly, the thought of participating publicly in that goofy poll was far less appealing than simply putting up with the new inane structure.

    I wonder how many others feel like myself... I suspect this would bring that 2M # up to levels that are far larger than the pro-change people would want to see.
  • JDS
    Facebook has other major problems that don't make a good fit for business, they should fix that before they try to fix things that are not broken.
  • Saint
    It should let us easily control what we broadcast as well.
  • Suzie
    The new fb stinks! Since nobody really likes it, less people are using it and connecting with one another. I know that I see alot less of my friends on it that before the change. Where are the birthdays? Why aren't new friends, comments on photos etc in the stream? And why did the live feed go away? Where are my groups? I'm all for updates and changes as long as they make sense. It seems like we have all lost more than we have gained...out with the new, bring back the old.
  • Unimpressed
    Here's the biggest issue, no one (outside the online media industry) joined Facebook to "stream" content or get streams of content. People joined FB to connect with friends. Regardless, of how "innovative" (and I totally disagress that it is innovative) people think this new "streaming" vision is, it still isn't WHY people use facebook. I use Twitter to see the random crap that people stream, I use FB to keep in touch with my friends. It seems a lot of people are finding FB less useful - see compete.com engagement metrics, all down since the redesign: http://siteanalytics.compete.com/facebook.com/?... . Also, Twitter's growth is up, my added at least 20 connections on twitter as people got pissed at FB for the changes.

    They got their current user base by being the best site for connecting with friends. Why not improve that?

    Seems they are too ego driven by their failed attempt to buy Twitter. I see the same type of arrogant, greedy management decisions being made by Facebook today that were rampant in the financial industry. It is a failure in product management to completely ignore your users needs to focus on your own ridiculous vision. The current backtracking isn't enough, the sites is still much less USEFUL than this time last year.

    Also, a digital media planner/buyer - they really need to improve their ad systems, because they do not prove an ROI. Their systems are in desperate need of upgrade for agency use (esp smaller agencies), but they ignore that revenue stream.
  • mattmcb
    I like Facebook's homepage, but the best homepage I've ever seen so far is sthrt.com and it works with Facebook or any other website.
  • most of users who did it they are a members in www.e-bizway.com

    check it to know how...

    thanks. :)