Users outraged at Facebook new layout – Many migrating to Google+

by Staff Reporter
September 22, 2011

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1823/users-outraged-at-facebook-new-layout-many

Users of Facebook, one of the most popular social networking sites have been reacting over the layout and other changes made by Facebook, which not only is troublesome, but also is terribly boring to the users. Giving reaction to such sudden changes in the Facebook layout, people are simply outraged, and only during September 21, 2011, only 1 in every 5,000 of the existing members of Facebook used the sites, and it is expected that the user number will greatly decline by Sunday. Many even decided to close their Facebook accounts and migrate to other social networking sites. But, surprisingly enough, Facebook has already deleted the option button, which allowed people in quitting their accounts. So, it means, Facebook now will rather compel the users in at least maintaining their account with this social networking site, as they possibly were aware that major segment of the users would simply leave the site when the new design would be activated. And that exactly happened since September 21, 2011, when thousands of Facebook users have decided to quit the site. It is anticipated that, within a months at least one fifth of the total numbers of Facebook users will close down their accounts and migrate to other sites. Some web experts say Facebook would make their user friendly version only available to the paid subscribers, while the current boring layout will be available for those who are using the site without any payment.

While Facebook has visibly made the newly introduced layout extreme user unfriendly, Google has launched it very new social networking site Google+, which already is drawing large number of users. The Google+ has friendly layout and it is much convenient to use in comparing to Facebook.

Similarly as Facebook, Yahoo is also inspiring its users in switching to 'Newer Version", which Yahoo claims to be faster. But, in reality it was already noted that Yahoo's older Classic Mail version is very user friendly and faster in comparing to the Newer Version, which not only takes lots of time but also is very complicated in numerous ways for users.

Facebook unveiled significant tweaks to user pages, adding "Top Stories" based on how often a user logs in, and adding a news ticker with instant status updates from friends. Instead of choosing between "Top Stories" and "Most Recent" posts, users have a selection of Top Stories from a select timeframe, then they can scroll down for fresher updates.

The layout also condenses information on events and invites. Clicking on that brings up additional details, such as friends' upcoming birthdays or other notable occasions.

Meanwhile, CNN said, "Facebook has made big changes to users' pages, and people are responding in droves with their metaphorical "dislike" buttons.

News Feeds were popping with not-so-gentle complaints Wednesday as many of the social-networking behemoth's 750 million users began seeing the overhaul.

"This is absolutely the worst of the many wrong-headed 'improvements' you have made, and that's quite a feat," a user named Franklin Habit wrote on the site's official Facebook page. "I think Facebook's usefulness to me has now been outstripped by its lack of ease in use."

The other most glaring change Wednesday was a new, scrolling rail on the right side of the home page. Facebook calls it The Ticker. We're partial to "The ADD Bar," because the feature seems pitched to our attention-deficit lifestyles with its rapidly streaming nuggets of friends' activity.

If a friend "likes" an update, comments on a post or subscribes to a page, it now pops up in the -- OK, we'll say it -- somewhat Twitter-like timeline.

Haters were calling it distracting. But Tonkelowitz believes the Ticker plugs the gap in the time lag the News Feed sometimes experiences, letting users have more real-time interactions.

One apparent quirk of the Ticker is that when a friend interacts with a nonfriend (say, likes the status update of someone you're not friends with), clicking on that activity will show the original post.

Tonkelowitz's blog post said the Ticker "shows you the same stuff you were already seeing on Facebook." But, Wednesday morning, clicking on a few items there seemed to show updates and other posts by nonfriends, even when those users' privacy settings appeared to make their posts private.

Facebook did not immediately respond Wednesday to a message seeking clarification on how that feature works. The company may explain the new changes further at f8, its annual conference, on Thursday.

In the history of Facebook changes, the pattern has typically been that users complain loudly at first and threaten to leave the site but then eventually learn to live with, if not like, the new approach.

This time may be somewhat more interesting in that it's the first major Facebook overhaul since Google rolled out its rival social networking site, Google+.

Many of the anti-change posts Wednesday were coupled with threats to defect to Google+ if things aren't changed back.

And interestingly -- and, we have to assume, coincidentally -- the Facebook overhaul was announced on the same day that Google+, previously an invite-only affair, was opened to the public.

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