by Alyssa Amasol
October 25, 2011
With this generation’s fascination with social media, Facebook has become the most popular of them all. It has 800 million active members worldwide, with approximately half of them logging on every day, according to Facebook developers.
As this social network expands, new changes and updates have become more common to the everyday user. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg aims to make Facebook a network that simplifies the sharing process by adding new features, settings and changing in design.
In a few weeks, Facebook will implement yet another new design to its interface.
It used to be a place where users could share basic information, however Facebook has evolved to show more of a user’s activity.
A “timeline” will replace a user’s profile page, streaming information about the user. The “timeline” can show everyday events or significant life moments dating all the way back to birth, according to The Facebook Blog. With the “timeline,” users can add photos and events to their page to allow them to go back in time, even before Facebook was born.
There’s also the “ticker,” a sidebar on the top, right corner of the news feed page. It is a live feed of updates and activity from both friends and non-friends that updates itself in real-time. The “ticker” moves as the user scrolls down the page, letting users hover over an item to see the full story. According to the Facebook Help Center, the privacy for this is determined by the privacy of the user in which the original post is linked to.
“It’s kind of scary and not worth it to read or know,” said Oswald Bumanglag, a senior at Hawaii Pacific University who goes on Facebook at least once a day.
Facebook will also add a feature called “gestures,” allowing users to do more than “like” a post. Instead, Facebook developers can turn almost any verb into a button that users can use similarly to the “like” button currently.
The update will make it easier for users to listen to music, watch movies and television and read news articles all without leaving Facebook. It will allow users to share all these activities with friends in real-time. This will turn Facebook into “a primary entertainment hub” by integrating music services such as Spotify and Turntable.fm, according to CBS News at the f8 conference.
There will also be lifestyle applications allowing users share posts about cooking, shopping or exercising.
“I don’t know if I like the update, it makes it harder to read,” Bumanglag said. “I don’t mind it, I actually like the mobile app but the computer interface is not the same.”
These new features have some users skeptical about privacy, especially since sharing has become even simpler.
“People can randomly search you on Facebook, like employers or just anyone, so I like to be able to manage that if possible,” Bumanglag said.
With this generation’s fascination with social media, Facebook has become the most popular of them all. It has 800 million active members worldwide, with approximately half of them logging on every day, according to Facebook developers.
As this social network expands, new changes and updates have become more common to the everyday user. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg aims to make Facebook a network that simplifies the sharing process by adding new features, settings and changing in design.
In a few weeks, Facebook will implement yet another new design to its interface.
It used to be a place where users could share basic information, however Facebook has evolved to show more of a user’s activity.
A “timeline” will replace a user’s profile page, streaming information about the user. The “timeline” can show everyday events or significant life moments dating all the way back to birth, according to The Facebook Blog. With the “timeline,” users can add photos and events to their page to allow them to go back in time, even before Facebook was born.
There’s also the “ticker,” a sidebar on the top, right corner of the news feed page. It is a live feed of updates and activity from both friends and non-friends that updates itself in real-time. The “ticker” moves as the user scrolls down the page, letting users hover over an item to see the full story. According to the Facebook Help Center, the privacy for this is determined by the privacy of the user in which the original post is linked to.
“It’s kind of scary and not worth it to read or know,” said Oswald Bumanglag, a senior at Hawaii Pacific University who goes on Facebook at least once a day.
Facebook will also add a feature called “gestures,” allowing users to do more than “like” a post. Instead, Facebook developers can turn almost any verb into a button that users can use similarly to the “like” button currently.
The update will make it easier for users to listen to music, watch movies and television and read news articles all without leaving Facebook. It will allow users to share all these activities with friends in real-time. This will turn Facebook into “a primary entertainment hub” by integrating music services such as Spotify and Turntable.fm, according to CBS News at the f8 conference.
There will also be lifestyle applications allowing users share posts about cooking, shopping or exercising.
“I don’t know if I like the update, it makes it harder to read,” Bumanglag said. “I don’t mind it, I actually like the mobile app but the computer interface is not the same.”
These new features have some users skeptical about privacy, especially since sharing has become even simpler.
“People can randomly search you on Facebook, like employers or just anyone, so I like to be able to manage that if possible,” Bumanglag said.
Privacy settings have evolved with the implementation of “lists,” where users can now sort their friends and manage sharing certain posts.
“The way I take privacy on my Facebook is that I don’t post,” Bumanglag said. “I actually put untrue information, limit my networking, and let people see only a very minimum amount. I post but I restrict it.”
Instead of his real last name, he goes by Oswald Boom on Facebook to ensure his own privacy.
Randy Manaverere, a third year student at HPU from Tahiti, goes on Facebook at least once a day and feels indifferent toward Facebook’s privacy settings.
“It’s okay, you can set it yourself. You just have to know how to use it,” he said. “You’ve got to be organized and sort your friends, family, real friends and leak whatever you want to share with them. It’s just a matter of adaptation and it takes time.”
Facebook is changing and with it, users are expected to adapt. The excitement of social media is not predicted to disappear anytime soon but it is hoped that updates and changes are better understood as networks grow.
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