Why the new Facebook Sucks
August 7, 2008 |
If you’re a member of Facebook you might have noticed the bar atop every page lately announcing the “new Facebook.” If you haven’t clicked “try it now” then you should, just to see what a horrible mess the whole thing is. If you’re not that adventurous then just keep reading and see what you’re not really missing.
The first ting you see when you pull up the new Facebook is a modified stalker news feed. This is, of course, where all of your friends updates can be found. It’s also the location of my first gripe. If you notice in the picture below, there is a large amount of whitespace surrounding profile pictures in the news feed. The profile pictures are so far away from the text it’s almost as if they’re not associated at all. On a positive note, the right hand sidebar is leaps and bounds better then the current implementation.
What's with all the whitespace?
Another issue I have can be found on a profile’s photos page. A person’s photo galleries have been moved to the bottom of the page, below ‘photos of’ that person (which is a collection of photos added by others that tag the person in question). It’s odd that the designers chose disorder over order here. The galleries should be at the top, or at the very least along the side. Also, notice the large amount of whitespace on the right side of the page. Granted, that is probably where an annoying ad goes but when ads are turned off it’s a gaping hole in the page.
What's with the disorganized photos page?
My final, and largest complaint, lies with people’s individual profile pages. Facebook has broken the profile pages into a number of tabs (Wall, Info, Photos, Boxes). Boxes is a very odd place to store all those crappy applications that should be done away with completely. Photos is mentioned above. Info is, well, exactly what it sounds like. The problem I have is with the main tab, Wall. The current Facebook Wall is the place to exchange messages with other people. Now the Facebook Wall is that and the profile’s mini-feed. That’s right. They’ve been combined into a very confusing, horribly implemented hodge podge of information overload. Grated, there are different filter buttons to get just what you’re looking for, but why should you have to do that? The two things don’t make sense together.
Did you really think it was a good idea to combine the mini feed with the wall?
Generally change is a good thing. Though Facebook seems to be changing for the sake of changing which is a very bad thing. The layout and design all scream FriendFeed, which is about as terrible a UI as I’ve seen on the internet in a long while. I guess Facebook decided to redesign things since MySpace recently did the same, but really, why should they care what MySpace is up too? I hope Facebook is paying attention to user complaints because I know I’m not alone in my thoughts.
Or am I? Let me know what you think about the new Facebook in the comments below.
Nick Tabick
August 7th, 2008 | 3:57 pm
I’m not the biggest fan of the new Facebook interface, either, and I’ve amassed quite a few gripes while using it.
For example, if you mess around with it enough, sometimes the URLs fail to build correctly and you end up with URLs that end up like home.php?someparamshere/photos.php?somemoreparams and you end up having to do some manual address manipulation to get out of the hole. It might just be me, but it’s done that with two different installations of Firefox on two different operating systems. (I haven’t bothered trying another browser on it yet to see if it is caused by the browser or Facebook’s faulty design, but I will be looking around soon enough.)
Also, with the new Wall + Feed design, perhaps they should consider renaming it to “Social” (seeing as it’s now a giant mix of the social things the user is doing on the site). Photos could also be renamed to Media, and showcase not just the photos but uploaded videos and notes as well.
As far as Boxes, I can’t even begin to describe my frustration with that idea. I used an application that would showcase the newest entries on my blog via the RSS feed, and display it right along with all of my information on the old profile page, but with applications now relegated to that near-hidden tab, it’s a lot harder for anyone to see that I’ve got new content without visiting the site or subscribing to my RSS feed. The same problem exists with other applications that show information you want people to see, and it really limits the control over your profile.
If Facebook saw the need to “de-clutter” profiles by moving everything around, it probably would have been in their interest to make it easier and more apparent to their users how clogged up things become instead of suggesting this half-baked solution.
Alright, I’d better stop before I offer up more content than your post.
Justin
August 7th, 2008 | 5:06 pm
If I gave out awards you’d get one for longest comment.
Using Safari I get the same home.php?/etc issue when clicking things on the home page. They clear, though, when I click on something in the menu bar.
Another thing I’ve noticed since writing this page a few days back is that some of the other sub-features, like People You May Know, just seem to be thrown in there. It’s almost as if the old code hasn’t been updated to work with the new design and it just looks awkward. It’s kind of hard to describe.
seven
August 7th, 2008 | 6:28 pm
Man, I hate the new facebook. I agree that it’s cluttered and confusing. I actually like the extra whitespace, but that’s about the only thing I like. I’ll be switching back to the old and hoping they don’t go to exclusively the new.
Nick Tabick
August 8th, 2008 | 2:54 am
Hopefully Facebook can clean most (if not all) of this up before it’s forced on their members (@seven: I guarantee it happens within the next month or two).
In the meantime, I’ll be waiting eagerly for my invitation to the Cox awards. Casual dress, right?
Justin
August 9th, 2008 | 12:29 am
Casual dress required. Shoes optional.
bob
August 19th, 2008 | 8:12 am
I found this post by searching “new facebook sucks” in Google hoping someone would agree with me. I cannot stand it at all.
If they had to do anything, I think they should have left most of the site how it was and just updated the style elements to look nicer.
Justin
August 20th, 2008 | 11:04 pm
You’re not the only one Bob. Lately one of the largest search terms bringing people here is “New Facebook Sucks.” Glad you enjoyed the post.
DeathLove Crymo
August 26th, 2008 | 10:55 pm
I also found this by searching “new facebook sucks”. Does anybody know if Facebook has responded to any of this negative reaction?
Bryan
August 28th, 2008 | 6:02 pm
I completely agree. The new Facebook is horrible. I can’t seem to find anything without looking through all the bad designing. The new Wall is my most hated part. It’s way to overcrowded and inconsistent. I’m really glad they have an option to switch back to the old version, and I hope that they respond to feedback because I don’t know a single person that enjoys this new crappy experience.
The new Facebook sucks « Christopher Wink
August 29th, 2008 | 6:59 am
[...] most consistent criticism is how disorganized profile pages seem now because of Facebook’s attempt at the Web 2.0 feel of rounded edges and fewer borders. Their [...]
Aaron
September 9th, 2008 | 1:51 pm
Redesigns are usually an attempt to:
a) add functionality
b) add visual appeal
c) address bugs/issues
The new facebook does NONE of the above. It seems a strangely feeble attempt to “update” the “look” ( I guess?) of facebook, without adding any real appeal or usability.
Its not often something so successful actually steps backward, while acting quite proud of itself…course…there is always Vista to compare it to…
Todd
October 3rd, 2008 | 1:40 am
You are not alone in your thinking. I can not stand the new facebook. I’ve highly against it. I’m very upset that I can’t switch back to the old one now.