Facebook’s Timeline

So… Facebook is changing again. It first introduced its new ‘Timeline’ a few months back and some Facebookers rushed to get it only to find that they did not like it.

Rumour has it that apparently the ‘Timeline’ was created by staff at Facebook who had too much time on their hands. Rather than find something constructive to do, like dream up another addictive Facebook game that sucks people in and ruins productivity, they decided they would rather ruin some people’s enjoyment of Facebook. Okay, we know it’s technology and that change is inevitable, but haven’t they ever heard the saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?

Not only that, at first the ‘Timeline’ appeared to be optional, but then maybe, just maybe, the slow uptake on it upset the creators. (You know, it’s like having someone tell you your baby is ugly.) So they have now made it mandatory. Come the end of this month, either you upgrade to the ‘Timeline’ or Facebook will do it for you.

Don’t get me wrong, the ‘Timeline’ is fascinating. It takes you back to the day you first became a Facebooker and allows you (or your friends) to scroll/trawl through the years looking back on the things you said and did and the photographs you posted. And it works really well if you have high speed internet. If you don’t, well it could be quite a bit time bound and timeless as opposed to timely, which we suspect the creators were aiming for.

Therefore, if there was anything you posted on Facebook and later regretted, but didn’t remove as it was quickly relegated to ‘older posts’ which no one clicks on anyway, ‘Timeline’ puts it back in your face.

We have cautioned repeatedly against succumbing to the moment and putting the wrong thing on Facebook and we repeat that warning now. Facebook is a ‘social’ networking instrument; it is not your personal diary. Your ‘wall’ is a public space, therefore, you should not put anything there that you are not totally comfortable saying and doing in front of a bunch of strangers at a cocktail party or depending on how click-happy you are, the Olympics. And by the way, if you’re not a public figure who is gathering a fan base, what the heck are you doing with 4,000 ‘friends’? Can you really socialize with 4,000 people?
That said, we also feel we should warn Facebookers that the ‘Timeline’ is not Facebook’s final frontier. Oh no. If you thought it was, think again. In time, Facebook will find a way to collect and store your hair colour, eye colour, DNA, Iris scan and thumbprint, no fingerprints. You see, we’re convinced that someone at Facebook was a Peeping Tom in another life.(thescene@stabroeknews.com)