Facebook began rolling out a dramatic new look for its 800 million users Thursday.
Called Timeline, the update effectively turns your profile page into a digital scrapbook. It’s an attractive makeover that allows users to easily browse status updates, photos and wall posts, whether from today, a year ago or when they originally joined the social network.
New posts appear as square storyboards rather than plain lines of text.
“It’s how you can tell the whole story of your life on a single page,” Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in September when the company announced Timeline.
The update doesn’t affect the news-feed page, where users view posts from their friends.
Facebook places a notification box at the top of profile pages when a user is eligible for Timeline.
After accepting the update, users will have seven days to play around with new features before friends will see their new profile.
The opt-in period will be available for a few weeks, after which “Facebook will begin moving the people who have not yet opted in over to the new profile,” a spokeswoman said Thursday.
After switching over, double-check your privacy settings because Facebook, as you may be aware, has a reputation for updating those without warning.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209, avuong@denverpost.com or
What to look for
Wallpaper
Find a nice wallpaper photo. Your new Timeline profile will feature a “cover” image to serve as the anchor of your page. A horizontal shot that isn’t too busy would work best because your current profile photo will be placed near the left corner of the cover image.
Your old posts
Spend some time going through personal wall posts and status updates. Friends will have easy access to those updates because there will be an actual scrolling timeline on the right side of your new profile page. Facebook notes that “only the people you originally shared a post with can see it on your timeline. If you want, you can go back and change who sees a post, delete it or just hide it from your timeline.”
“Likes”
Remember all those pages you “liked” to enter contests? They’ll have a prominent place above the fold on your profile in a box called “likes.” So if you don’t want a certain business or personality showing up on your page, unlike them.
