Comments on: 60% of Facebook Users Now Viewing the “New” Facebook

By: Rufus Bomeister

Rufus Bomeister — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:20:35 +0000

Awesome!

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:35:05 +0000

Wow. “Put up or shut up.” Nice. Tell me when that approach was ever successful for implementing change. People aren’t complaining for the sake of complaining or for a fear of change. People are speaking up in hopes that their perspectives as users are taken into account. The new layout puts information on several tabs with no discretion or control over what information the user wants available at first glance. At least the “old” version allowed users to drag and drop applications to the placement desired. As a graphic designer, I feel that this new layout is completely counterintuitive, NOT user-friendly, and it lacks the individual control of the previous version. I don’t understand why Facebook needed this change, but I do understand design. And this design is horrible. I give it an F-. Your move, MySpace.

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:18:59 +0000

The new design seems to entail more clicking and scrolling to find the basic information about somebody that used to be available at a glance. I personally don’t like that, nor do I like the additional white space and scattered arrangement of things on the page under the “new.”

I *do* like the “photos” tab, though. Otherwise, I think it looks too “loose.”

Anyway, it’s just my opinion. Some may differ with it, or even think that I shouldn’t complain, or should just shut-up. I would suggest that they might be very rude.

By: Guy

Guy — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:29:07 +0000

All valid points.

New Facebook is still much better, and it’s still coming. Put up or shut up (as in, never use Facebook again, or … self explanatory).

By: Robert

Robert — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:39:07 +0000

Eh. My having stuck with the new design is an indication that I like it?

It’s more of an indication that I’m reluctant to lose the set-up work that I did in it before I realised just how slow and buggy it would be…

By: Evan

Evan — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:36:13 +0000

Fourth paragraph of that huge post is a typo. “. . . is specifically for finding new employees . . . ” is how it should have read.

By: Evan

Evan — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:25:06 +0000

The point remains that many users are dissatisfied with the new Facebook system. Even though the number of users in the joining the new groups which are opposed to the new Facebook are relatively small, Facebook can’t ignore the fact that according to the graph, 35% of users still use the old Facebook and that in the past few weeks, over 40% of users who try the new Facebook go back. True, the majority of users like the new Facebook, but 35% of 100,000,000 (assuming the figure provided by Guy is correct) is 35,000,000. Facebook does not want to have 35 million unhappy users.
Also, the secong chart only shows the number of users go back or do not go back in their first session in the new Facebook. I would be interested to see how many went back after two or more sessions on the new Facebook.

By the bye, I disagree with Guy in that I don’t think “human nature” is the reason I don’t want to use the new Facebook. True, I generally don’t adjust well to change, but the new Facebook is NOT easier to use, it is NOT intuitive, it is NOT familiar (after all, it is different).
As someone who wants to be a librarian, I know a little bit about the presentation of information. The new Facebook does not present the users profile in an well organized manner. Some portions are located in one place, the other half of that information is located somewhere else. Important information for business people (Contact information, Education, Work experience, etc.) is filed away, out of site. Not that Facebook is specifically for fining new employees, the old Facebook allowed the user to place user-defined important information where they chose.
As an artist and someone who seriously considered design or architecture as a profession, I find the design displeasingly asymmetrical, and yes, there is pleasing asymmetry.

Sorry about the excessive length of this post, especially the latter half, devoted entirely to what I don’t find pleasing in the new Facebook.

Oh, and I just looked at the graph again, and I want to note that the growth rate in the percentage of users using the new Facebook is declining. At some point, assuming Facebook never makes the change mandatory, this growth rate will reach zero, and all the users will have switched (or not) to the Facebook design of their choice.
I predict the number sticking with the old Facebook will be close to 30%, all things remaining equal, especially the parabola which most closely approximates the line made by connecting the midpoint of the boundary between the two groups of users.

By: River

River — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:08:35 +0000

“if this keeps up at this rate…” it will take another 1.5 months to go up to “2/3 of 1%”

Still no fire….

By: Tara

Tara — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:18:03 +0000

Guy no there is not… they are wrong when they said “just a few vocal responses…”

there are 10 ppl a second right now joining the group to keep the old version as we speak… as well as two more groups just popped up with 150,000 a piece…..

the one I’m in is at like 290,000 and will hit 300,000 within the next half hour to hour if it keeps up at this rate…

By: Guy

Guy — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:15:52 +0000

Hey Crystal,

Last time I checked 300,000 / 100,000,000 DAU = 1/3 of 1%.

Where’s the fire?

There are more people in favor of the new iteration than the old. Bottom line.

The only difference is this; they don’t care enough to build groups promoting their position.