If you’ve ever wanted to go way back on your Facebook profile to find a really old post from 2006, now you can much easier than clicking on a link at the bottom forever on end.
Say hello to Timeline. Basically, it’s all of your stories and apps in a new way to express who you are.
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The first major announcement at Facebook’s F8 Developers Forum on Thursday morning revolves around what CEO Mark Zuckerberg described as “the heart of the Facebook experience.”
It’s a lot more visual. All of the old basics are there, but in a drastically different presentation than we’ve ever seen before. Yes, there’s the Wall, which Zuckerberg said is “more nicely designed,” as well as visual tiles of core apps (friends, map, likes and photos), and recent activities.
At the core is the namesake of the new layout: the actual timeline. Dating back to 2004 (as well was “way back”), users can scroll instantly (to the point where it made some conference goers a bit dizzy as it scrolled so fast on the big screen) throughout all of their wall posts, photos and more. Basically, the timeline starts with a user’s birthday.
This will also be available on mobile devices.
Timeline can be filtered down to one type of content by clicking on filters (a.k.a. Timeline views). The most intriguing and new filter to the profile is the map, which draws on Facebook Place by showing where you’ve checked-in along with where you lived and worked.
Another new feature is called Reports, which uses a person’s apps and takes content to create a summary of what you’ve been working on elsewhere on Facebook. Of course, this can be broken down by dates too.
Along with the timeline, the most obvious change to Facebook members is going to be the giant “Cover,” which acts like a wallpaper of sorts. Essentially, it’s a giant image that sits at the top of a person’s profile with that user’s normal Facebook profile picture layered on top of the image towards the lower left-hand corner.
“Timeline is a completely new aesthetic for Facebook,” Zuckerberg proclaimed, positing that each profile will be more distinct from the other than ever before.
Looking back, Zuckerberg said, the last five years of social networking have been about getting people signed up and connected with the people in their lives. By now, most people see that social networks are going to be an ubiquitous tool around the world, he added, noting that Facebook nas now seen half a billion users log on in a single day.
Going forward, Zuckerberg argued that the next era is going to be defined by the apps and depth of engagement now possible.
What’s more exciting is all the things that are now possible now that all of these connections are in place.
“Our job is to make this product the best way to share everything you want and the best way to express who you are, Zuckerberg explained.
Timeline will be available to developers starting today, with the beta version launching immediately. Users can sign up for it and it will be rolled out in the coming weeks.
