Don’t mess with my Facebook! That’s the gist of the user outrage that followed the Facebook redesign. And now Facebook is accommodating this by outlining changes, updates, and fine-tuning. Some things are undoubtedly good, like the real-time updating of the activity stream, while others might or might not prove to be a solid move. I won’t review proposed updates to a site, but I will say that site owners should beware of reverting too much to users’ requests. It’s always a good thing to listen to the users, and take criticism (good and bad) to heart, but one should always remember that most users view change as something bad, out of habit.
In other words: You might have a brilliant new concept, but if you don’t give the users the chance to realize it, and just reverts back to what they’re used to, you’ll never know. This might or might not be the case when it comes to the Facebook design, I don’t know and I’m not the target audience or user either, but I’m just saying.
Did Facebook turn around to fast? Share in the comments.
Author: Thord Daniel Hedengren
Thord Daniel Hedengren is a designer, writer, and blogger, and also the former editor of The Blog Herald. He used to be a hotshot in the gaming industry in Sweden, but sold everything and went International. Most recently he wrote a book called Smashing WordPress: Beyond the Blog, and does loads of kickass design.
I don’t really think it’ll matter. There was uproar when they had that significant update not too long ago, when the layout was dramatically changed. Then people began to get used to it. I’m used to it, and you should too.
It’s not that bad once you use it for a while.
@Michael – Well said!
Just so we’re clear, I think it was a step in the right direction, but I really don’t care.