Tumblr 101: Tips And Tricks To Get Started
WATCH: Shredding On The Google Guitar!
Facebook users hate the redesign, but does it matter?
I'm with Eric Eldon at VentureBeat on this one: users don't always know what they want, and a lot of people have negative attitudes toward having to relearn a site they were already very familiar with. When the dust clears a little bit, and folks have had a chance to test-drive the site a bit, then Facebook might have to start listening to constructive criticism. For right now, they should -- and will, more than likely -- work out any kinks in the new design, but give it some time to win people over.
Download Squad readers, what do you think? Do initial user reactions to the new design matter? Should Facebook scrap it, or give it a chance, and why? Vote in our poll, or leave a comment if you have more to say.
| Yes, and Facebook should listen. | |
|---|---|
| No, Facebook should give it a chance. | |
| I'm not convinced everyone hates it anyway. | |
| Who cares? Facebook is irrelevant. |
Comments
48
Subscribe to commentsDiegoMar 21st 2009 8:21PM
I voted that it matters; most of all, because I think the designs doesn't seek a better user-experience. I think it seeks to be as similar as Twitter as it can, after the failed acquisition.
tingrin87Mar 22nd 2009 3:19AM
i came upon this realization the other day too - the biggest giveaway is "what's on your mind" instead of whatever it was before (i think it was [is... type text here])
bccarlsoMar 21st 2009 8:30PM
It seems to me anyone who has used Facebook that also uses Twitter is fine with the new changes. It's those who don't use Twitter or other similar services, and who are "generally opposed to change" (as most people are) don't like the new updates (for now). I agree, give it some time and people will be fine with it. It's just something new, they're scared, just like they were the last time Facebook redesigned.
Spenser JonesMar 21st 2009 8:30PM
Definitely agree with you there! I am loving the new layout, and I find it quite a bit more organized, but all of my friends hate it with a passion. But everyone hated the last change too, and now everyone is cool with it. I really think people need to chill for a bit, give the new layout a chance, and then determine whether it is really as bad as they think!
El TacoMar 21st 2009 8:39PM
People were mad about the last change, too. They don't like the new design worse, they just don't like change (even though it's for the better IMO).
Most people are just following the crowd.
sjs2626Mar 22nd 2009 6:47AM
Actually, I have made my status personal messages that I meant to write on peoples walls, and it is weird for everyone to see.
Ben CarrollMar 21st 2009 10:40PM
This is coming from a professional web designer. The new design is freaking horrible UI nightmare! I can't tell if its some ones status update or one of those stupid apps. I love the status update tab cause I could avoid those dumb updates by the stupid facebook apps. I am going to start killing lamas soon...
alfMar 21st 2009 9:24PM
I disagree that its the people who don't use twitter that are complaining. I use twitter and facebook, and I like to keep the two separate.
I liked the distinction between wall post, other post (photo/link/story) and status update.
BloobieMar 21st 2009 9:49PM
I have to agree with alf on this one. There's no longer any distinction between updates. Another major annoyance occurs when a friend performs multiple actions like, for example, send the same gift to several people. Each and every action is displayed as its own update on my profile. I had one friend send a gift for St Patty's day to several of her friends and it took up my entire profile page!
The UI is horrid. If I wanted poor web design and layout, I would have stayed on Myspace.
lilpunk1302Mar 21st 2009 8:50PM
I find that now, information I used to see doesn't show up anymore,
Like one of my friends uploaded an album, and another commented on it,
The comments didn't show up anywhere on my feed, and I actually saw the comments just by chance looking at their walls.
Welcome Nick!!!Mar 21st 2009 10:41PM
I had that problem with the last design. Now I just filter out all the people I don't want to see anything from, and just keep those I want to see stuff from, and I get everything. There are plenty of features in place to allow users to get the information they want, they just gotta use em.
lilpunk1302Mar 21st 2009 11:01PM
Well the thing is that it worked just fine with the old version, I had the right people "More about"'d and "Less About"'d but now I have to go through and make up groups >.< and get the permission set up.
It's just more effort than I want to make.
step21Mar 21st 2009 8:52PM
@Adam Oh so true ... For me the whole last.fm thing was the last nail in the coffin for TechCrunch, they totally lost any credibility they had left, and things like this show it's not getting any better.
step21Mar 21st 2009 8:56PM
I really like the new layout. Even more so because it means I will never have to really start using twitter, cause all the people I really know are already on facebook, and sharing stuff with them is much more interesting to me then sharing stuff with websites/blogs/whoever on twitter. Also, fb's sharing widget with the thumbnail selector is awesome.
@above sorry for accidentally reposting an old comment. feel free to delete it.
inkubus949Mar 21st 2009 9:16PM
i just hate how transparent it is- facebook knows twitter is better so they are trying to rip it off to the extent that people will not start defecting. thing is, facebook offers a lot of things that twitter cant and shouldnt- but now thats less true. imitating twitter (and poorly) isnt a good plan imo
requiredMar 21st 2009 11:12PM
I know a lot of folks have moved on to twitter purely because of this redesign. Makes sense too, twittering is what twitter was designed for and if you're going to twitter why do it on facebook?
DuckMar 21st 2009 9:20PM
It's not all that bad. The only problem I have with it is the ability to choose what I see on the feed.
There is WAY too much application spam :(
JamesMar 21st 2009 10:16PM
I haven't seen any. Then again, whenever someone sends me one of those stupid "request to be XYZ" things, I just block the application.
SouveysMar 21st 2009 9:39PM
The problem I have is not so much with the new "design", but more with the featured lost by the simplification. The main problem for me is that there is no longer a "Live Feed" that shows everything that is happening and updates via AJAX. The new feed must be manually refreshed AND does not include everything that the old on did. Instead it includes status updates and wall posts. Frankly, I don't care about other people's wall posts, which they generally use for semi-private conversation. In addition, the new feed seems somewhat random: I've noticed that some statuses don't show up at all, others come and go (even refresh to refresh), and sometimes comments don't appear in the feed. At this point, I've actually resorted to using the mobile interface on my desktop (m.facebook.com) because at least the mobile feed doesn't randomly skip things (although it still isn't as comprehensive as the old "Live Feed").
I guess from my perspective, this whole thing is probably good--I'm wasting less of my time on Facebook now that I can't see everything that is going on with my friends.
riangifariMar 23rd 2009 12:20AM
the same problem here.