Comments for Facebook New Profile Dev Sandbox Now Live

Facebook New Profile Dev Sandbox Now Live

2008-05-23T16:43:24Z

Facebook's new profile design, which we first wrote about in February is now live for developers. Any developer can visit http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php to access the developer sandbox and play around with the new design, which aims to unclutter the site by breaking the profile into five distinct areas. Will the new profile provide a better user experience? Or will it be met with resistance?

]]> Probably the most interesting thing about the new profile design is the emphasis Facebook now puts on the mini-feed. Facebook has decided that activity streams are the most important part of the profile -- more important than the wall or the about me info -- and put them front and center on the main tab. Though applications tend to have a presence in the mini-feed, they have been somewhat marginalized by being relegated to the "Boxes" tab -- which is the fifth listed when reading left to right. There is also an "Applications" drop down in the top nav bar, but this is a major departure from the old "app boxes everywhere" layouts.

We did notice some inconsistencies with the new layout in the developer sandbox version. For example, at least one app had a box appearing on the left side bar on all profile pages, with no clear indication of how to add and remove applications from that area -- or how many would be allowed that special treatment. We also thought it strange that to post to the wall, users are asked to use a box on the Feeds tab, while there is no way to post from the actual Wall page. That said, this is a beta sandbox page, and Facebook informed developers that, "some features are not necessarily enabled and others are still in flux."

When we introduced the new tabbed profiles in February, we theorized that the limited space for applications was an attempt to encourage developers to create more useful apps. Facebook said then that applications that "don't provide value and meaning for users" would face "challenges" under the new profile layout.

Now that the new profiles are (almost) live, what do you think? Do tabs make sense? On one hand you have extra clicks to get to certain profile information, and profiles are even less able to be customized by the user now. But on the other, there is a lot less garbage in the way of applications that users are forced to wade through to find the information they want -- profiles are now undeniably cleaner. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Comment from Doug van Spronsen on 2008-05-23

2008-05-23T17:03:57Z

I think that just as last time, there will be resistance but after a few weeks most users will see that the new layout actually is well thought out, and more efficient.

Comment from Talking Books Librarian on 2008-05-23

2008-05-23T19:08:41Z

I like that there will be less emphasis on applications and hopefully more focus on friend updates in the mini feed. I sometimes have a hard time keeping up with friend updates due to almost "spam" like updates from some of the applications in the feed... should be interesting to see how it all turns out...

Comment from cease on 2008-05-23

2008-05-23T19:15:43Z

Am I the only one who thinks this is not any better and quite possibly worse.

Comment from Kay on 2008-05-23

2008-05-23T19:18:15Z

I could care less about the bajillion aps my friends have. I'm not installing them and would rather not see them. I go to profiles to see my friends pics, walls, and maybe check out who else they're friends with. Too bad they didn't offer up just TWO separate tabs for "the stuff they now have in separate tabs" and "Applications Tab". Short, simple, and separates the wheat from the chaff.

@cease: You're not the only one.

Comment from Sarah Perez on 2008-05-23

2008-05-23T19:24:04Z

Activity streams in Facebook...soon-to-be FriendFeed killer?

Comment from Sebastian on 2008-05-23

2008-05-23T19:41:50Z

Disappointing. I expected something more visually appealing, to be honest.

Comment from Project on 2008-05-23

2008-05-23T20:00:45Z

Love the direction they are going in, BUT there is a little too much white space for my liking. Not enough "order" to separate the feed and the stuff on the left hand side of the profile.

Comment from Deepa on 2008-05-23

2008-05-23T20:57:10Z

Not exactly all that visually appealing, but could be more efficient. Especially when I'm visiting my friends' profiles and it's impossible to find their wall because they have like, ninety apps.

Comment from Project on 2008-05-23

2008-05-23T21:03:18Z

@ Deepa, you're talking about the old design

Comment from Ananda on 2008-05-23

2008-05-23T21:28:30Z

I'm another one who really dislikes the news. I really dislike it that they made the Mini-feed uncollapsable... why can't they let the users choose rather than dictate it? If it were the most important feature, why not let people choose to see the Mini-feed? I like seeing updates (not added applications), but not the pollution of displaying the last 10 silly stories. Count me in as one of those resistant users.

Comment from lajolla5380 on 2008-05-23

2008-05-23T21:54:14Z

LOVE IT. It feels like an OS. Apps are easy to get to. App developers have much more room to create now too. Everything is cleaner. There is a lot of whitespace...especially if you have a big ol' monitor...but i'm sure that will change.

LOVE IT.

Comment from Anonymous on 2008-05-23

2008-05-24T00:16:27Z

I think the new layout looks AWFUL!!!

Comment from Mattie on 2008-05-24

2008-05-24T15:35:14Z

I really hate the new layout. Information is far too spread out and leaves too much white space on each page. I don't have much information or many applications on my profile right now, and I severely limit the things my minifeed publishes. My profile, however, looks full. With this new design, my profile would look empty and wasted.

Also, it's incredibly counter intuitive and silly to have me post on someone's wall through the feed. I personally HATE the mini feed and rarely use it. Now it's going to be front and center on my profile. The new design FORCES too much on users. I don't like not have customization control over my own profile. When it rolls out, I'm willing to be I almost completely close my account.