Facebook Timeline is too awful to be an accident

#1

Post by jeffdechambeau » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 5:00 PM UTC

Facebook Timeline is too awful to be an accident
jeffdechambeau.com

Re: Facebook Timeline is too awful to be an accident

#2

Post by gonehome » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 5:38 PM UTC

Seems to me the much more likely scenario is that Timeline was created to give a better (and prettier) interface for users to access the information posted to facebook - not some kind of secret psychological advertising conspiracy.

Re: Facebook Timeline is too awful to be an accident

#3

Post by jff » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 5:38 PM UTC

Or the Facebook Timeline is their New Coke--they can roll it out, then in a few months roll back to something similar, but not exactly the same as, the old layout.

Re: Facebook Timeline is too awful to be an accident

#4

Post by suking » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 5:41 PM UTC

I was just talking to a friend about timeline and how hard it is to navigate. I can't even go on friends pages that use it - it's just too hard to get used to, especially when almost everyone else uses the regular interface.

Re: Facebook Timeline is too awful to be an accident

#5

Post by simondlr » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 5:42 PM UTC

While an interesting theory (I should read the book), how are you certain that system 2 comes online when viewing the timeline?

Re: Facebook Timeline is too awful to be an accident

#6

Post by zerostar07 » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 5:46 PM UTC

Having followed the changes in their platform for years that doesn't seem to be the case. It s probably somebody new wanting to try some new idea. Zynga does have an optimization engine in place, Facebook does trial and error too much: profile boxes, tabs, no boxes, top stories etc, it's just pointless variations of a newsfeed.

Re: Facebook Timeline is too awful to be an accident

#7

Post by citricsquid » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 5:46 PM UTC

I like the new Timeline feature but the inability for me to switch to some sort of "old" view when I just want to see a perfect list of updates without any fancy grouping an annoyance. For casual use the Timeline is good but it leaves a lot to be desired when I want to see everything.

Re: Facebook Timeline is too awful to be an accident

#8

Post by Jimmy » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 5:46 PM UTC

gonehome wrote: post #2

Seems to me the much more likely scenario is that Timeline was created to give a better (and prettier) interface for users to access the information posted to facebook - not some kind of secret psychological advertising conspiracy.

But it's not a better and prettier interface. It's just awful. Granted, the only ads that appear on a Timeline page are in a narrow column off to the side (I didn't even know there were any ads until I specifically checked for them after reading this article), so I'm not sure how valid this conspiracy theory is. But it doesn't change the fact that Timeline looks horrible.

Re: Facebook Timeline is too awful to be an accident

#9

Post by bobbles » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 5:48 PM UTC

I love the timeline layout.. id rather scroll easily through stuff from a couple of years ago and get a good overview of what I was doing than go through photo galleries I have on my PC with no context or further information.

Re: Facebook Timeline is too awful to be an accident

#10

Post by jraines » Wed, Jan 18, 2012, 5:48 PM UTC

It has its rough edges, but I have to say that scrolling down the Timeline is a more personal and emotional experience than can be found anywhere else.