I’m getting an inside look at Facebook and here is our first interview with one of Facebook’s top geeks, Mark Slee, who runs the team that did the new design that came out a couple of weeks ago. You get a look at the executive offices (Zuckerberg’s office is right behind the cameras) and learn a lot about the design thinking behind the new design.
Inside Facebook, Part I (New design)
Published
Scobleizer 
.
Did you get a chance to confront them on that recent controversial Washington post article about their new tight security policies for banning members?
YIKES!! they are not taking any chances!
LikeLike
.
Did you get a chance to confront them on that recent controversial Washington post article about their new tight security policies for banning members?
YIKES!! they are not taking any chances!
LikeLike
Hi Robert!
I’m trying to follow you on Tumblr but I cant seem to find your account! I tried scobleizer.tumblr.com but that wasn’t it!
Cheerz!
LikeLike
Hi Robert!
I’m trying to follow you on Tumblr but I cant seem to find your account! I tried scobleizer.tumblr.com but that wasn’t it!
Cheerz!
LikeLike
It’s refreshing to hear a company say they really want to focus on what the users want, and clearly are being transparent, as opposed to people who just talk the talk. It took me a few weeks to get down with the new design, but as Mark said, once you use the new design and go back to the old design, you really realize what the old design was missing.
LikeLike
It’s refreshing to hear a company say they really want to focus on what the users want, and clearly are being transparent, as opposed to people who just talk the talk. It took me a few weeks to get down with the new design, but as Mark said, once you use the new design and go back to the old design, you really realize what the old design was missing.
LikeLike
Great design i think. Still clean and easy to use.
LikeLike
Great design i think. Still clean and easy to use.
LikeLike
I dont find any advantages of facebook compared to myspace
LikeLike
I dont find any advantages of facebook compared to myspace
LikeLike
I can’t stand the new design. Cramming it down my throat isn’t nice either.
Thanks for nothing, Mark Slee.
LikeLike
I can’t stand the new design. Cramming it down my throat isn’t nice either.
Thanks for nothing, Mark Slee.
LikeLike
I agree with Seymore. I hate the new facebook version. I don’t believe a word Mark Slee said. I think they are trying to be too aspirational. The want to develop something that drives people to perform new behaviors. The average user doesn’t want the changes they are making. They are making decisions based on their own egos and not on user’s needs. There are many groups and petitions out there against it. One of the groups already has over 750K members. If FB was being truly transparent, they would have release the number of people that switched back to the old version. I may not stop using FB when they switch, but I will definitely be more open to going back to Myspace or whatever new shows up. They have not inspired user loyalty with this move.
LikeLike
I agree with Seymore. I hate the new facebook version. I don’t believe a word Mark Slee said. I think they are trying to be too aspirational. The want to develop something that drives people to perform new behaviors. The average user doesn’t want the changes they are making. They are making decisions based on their own egos and not on user’s needs. There are many groups and petitions out there against it. One of the groups already has over 750K members. If FB was being truly transparent, they would have release the number of people that switched back to the old version. I may not stop using FB when they switch, but I will definitely be more open to going back to Myspace or whatever new shows up. They have not inspired user loyalty with this move.
LikeLike
True, forcing users to switch to the new design isn’t a good move on Facebook’s behalf, but don’t call out this Mark Slee character. Obviously it was a group consensus, and anyway, I would love to work at Facebook.
LikeLike
True, forcing users to switch to the new design isn’t a good move on Facebook’s behalf, but don’t call out this Mark Slee character. Obviously it was a group consensus, and anyway, I would love to work at Facebook.
LikeLike
Yes it seems like there are many people out there who don’t like the new Facebook – the largest group against it has approximately 1 million members, but that’s actually only very little, ~1% of the 100 million users Facebook has. The other 99% is called the silent majority – the people who either like it or don’t care. Obviously if you do like the new Facebook, most people wouldn’t think to join a group that says they like it – only if they DON’T like it would they do that. Who do you think Facebook wants to please – the 1% unhappy people or the 99% silent majority?
LikeLike
Yes it seems like there are many people out there who don’t like the new Facebook – the largest group against it has approximately 1 million members, but that’s actually only very little, ~1% of the 100 million users Facebook has. The other 99% is called the silent majority – the people who either like it or don’t care. Obviously if you do like the new Facebook, most people wouldn’t think to join a group that says they like it – only if they DON’T like it would they do that. Who do you think Facebook wants to please – the 1% unhappy people or the 99% silent majority?
LikeLike
The new design forces people to adapt to something too soon and too quick. I know that it was available months prior to the switch but people liked facebook fine before the re design. Seems like they’ll loose a lot of credibility from the switch. It would be great if facebook intergrated aspects of the new design into the old facebook so people could adapt to it slowly, I think people would be more accepting.
LikeLike
The new design forces people to adapt to something too soon and too quick. I know that it was available months prior to the switch but people liked facebook fine before the re design. Seems like they’ll loose a lot of credibility from the switch. It would be great if facebook intergrated aspects of the new design into the old facebook so people could adapt to it slowly, I think people would be more accepting.
LikeLike
I think the New Facebook takes and breaks what was simple, elegant and useful and replaces it with a variety of tabs that hide, disassemble and confuse the carefully crafted narratives and preferences that millions and millions of users chose with purpose. There is about 400 percent more advertising space on the New Facebook. Um, yay? Did we want that?
http://www.unboundedition.com/content/view/8005/50/.
LikeLike
I think the New Facebook takes and breaks what was simple, elegant and useful and replaces it with a variety of tabs that hide, disassemble and confuse the carefully crafted narratives and preferences that millions and millions of users chose with purpose. There is about 400 percent more advertising space on the New Facebook. Um, yay? Did we want that?
http://www.unboundedition.com/content/view/8005/50/.
LikeLike
I have really noticed a distinct lack of activity on FB since the new layout – less messages, less posting, fewer of my friends on line. People seem to be spending less time on it now, I certainly am – just checking on every so often to get messages. The new layout does not lend itself to what I used to use it for – now you have click on a new page to do anything. I can foresee a decline in its use now that it has lost what made it special. And it seems over 2 million other FB users agree…..
LikeLike
I have really noticed a distinct lack of activity on FB since the new layout – less messages, less posting, fewer of my friends on line. People seem to be spending less time on it now, I certainly am – just checking on every so often to get messages. The new layout does not lend itself to what I used to use it for – now you have click on a new page to do anything. I can foresee a decline in its use now that it has lost what made it special. And it seems over 2 million other FB users agree…..
LikeLike
dont like the new design. took me long enough to enjoy the original design, then they come out with this one that takes longer to load, takes longer to scroll to read all, and just doesnt look as nice.
was starting to move away from myspace, but looks like ill be sticking with it and moving from facebook.
LikeLike
dont like the new design. took me long enough to enjoy the original design, then they come out with this one that takes longer to load, takes longer to scroll to read all, and just doesnt look as nice.
was starting to move away from myspace, but looks like ill be sticking with it and moving from facebook.
LikeLike
also, why cant they just do what myspace did and allow the user to decide wether they want the new or old look applied!??
LikeLike
also, why cant they just do what myspace did and allow the user to decide wether they want the new or old look applied!??
LikeLike
Isn’t it ironic that the “design motivation” is to move towards feeds and simpler information flow… but that Facebook is probably the largest social walled-garden on the web. Their RSS feed importing function doesn’t work properly, and you can’t get your “feeds” out of it either.
They’re saying one thing, and doing another. Would you continue to trust someone who did that with vast quantities of your personal information?
LikeLike
Isn’t it ironic that the “design motivation” is to move towards feeds and simpler information flow… but that Facebook is probably the largest social walled-garden on the web. Their RSS feed importing function doesn’t work properly, and you can’t get your “feeds” out of it either.
They’re saying one thing, and doing another. Would you continue to trust someone who did that with vast quantities of your personal information?
LikeLike
I enjoyed having everything on one page. I could manipulate the person’s apps that I saw so that I wasn’t scrolling down 50 million apps on one profile and at the same time I could see everything they had, right there. It was clean and it worked for me. I tested the new layout when it was released and I hated it. I hated having everything compartmentalized and having to click click click to get to anything else. So I switched back, hoping that they’d keep an option for users to choose between layouts.
Without the option, and being forced to use only new facebook I got rid of my account. It’s deactivated and it doesn’t really bother me. I had joined back in 2005 and with all the changes that had occurred since I hadn’t minded all too much. They never directly affected how I enjoyed facebook. The layout did though and I didn’t want it. 40% may have switched and not looked back, but there was still the other 60% that either did look and hated it, choose to not look, or didn’t know. 40% is not the best you can have there.
LikeLike
I enjoyed having everything on one page. I could manipulate the person’s apps that I saw so that I wasn’t scrolling down 50 million apps on one profile and at the same time I could see everything they had, right there. It was clean and it worked for me. I tested the new layout when it was released and I hated it. I hated having everything compartmentalized and having to click click click to get to anything else. So I switched back, hoping that they’d keep an option for users to choose between layouts.
Without the option, and being forced to use only new facebook I got rid of my account. It’s deactivated and it doesn’t really bother me. I had joined back in 2005 and with all the changes that had occurred since I hadn’t minded all too much. They never directly affected how I enjoyed facebook. The layout did though and I didn’t want it. 40% may have switched and not looked back, but there was still the other 60% that either did look and hated it, choose to not look, or didn’t know. 40% is not the best you can have there.
LikeLike