Students weigh in on Facebook layout changes

By Kara Duffy | gargoyle@flagler.edu

After the release of Google Plus, the newest social media competitor, Facebook has made several changes, including renovations to the news feed and layout, to make its site more convenient and simple.

But the upgrades aren’t over.

According to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, a new timeline will be added to a user’s profile, which aims to make it easier to view a person’s profile from the creation of his or her Facebook to the present. Improvements include where users were born, when they joined Facebook and all activity they ever created on Facebook.

Flagler student Jen Knurek, 20, thinks the convenience will be beneficial.

“The Facebook timeline has a similar layout to Myspace, but it does make it a lot easier to go back and see my Facebook history,” Knurek, a psychology major, said.

In addition to the new layout improvements, Facebook will be including social applications, an improved friends list and a news ticker. The social applications portion exists to integrate the music users listen to, the shows they watch, and the news they read with their profile page.

“Express who you are through all the things you do–the music you love, the recipes you enjoy, the runs you take and more,” Zuckerburg said at the Facebook developers conference.

The improved friends list makes it simple to create groups of friends in a timely manner, especially with the new smart lists, Zuckerberg said. Smart lists are lists that are created and maintained by Facebook to organize and provide updates for friends who have mutual activities.

Frank Lawton, a Flagler College communications major, said he believes the improvements promote and celebrate common interests.

“Being able to share with specific groups of friends and to be able to see what my friends and I have in common makes sharing a lot easier and a lot more fun,” Lawton, 22, said.

Zuckerberg said the news ticker is a small news feed, located at the top right, which gives users updated and important information. This makes it easy to comment on new pictures, statuses and posts as they happen, he said.

However, some users think the updates are doing more harm than good.

“I just don’t understand why our profiles need to have a play-by-play of what other people are doing,” Flagler College business major, Carissa Pagnotta, said. “It makes Facebook super creepy.”