The new Facebook Timeline profile is now available to anyone who wants it. So, to update? Or not to update? That’s probably your question. To make your decision a little easier, I’ve updated my own profile to learn the ins and outs of Facebook’s newest creation.
I’ll admit, I was feeling daunted by the new profile. It just looks complicated. And, for those of us who don’t spend our every waking hour on Facebook, I was concerned that it was going to take too much of my time to update it. However, after clicking the button to apply the new profile, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only does Facebook give you the option to not publish your new profile for a couple days while you work on it, but the only thing you really have to do to make it look complete is choose a “Cover”. Which, if you’re not too picky, is pretty darn easy. Just select a picture that’s already uploaded to your Facebook or computer, and simply drag it around to fix the positioning.
Now, let’s move on to the stories area. This is where things can get a little tricky, as a lot of time can be spent here. Basically, Facebook has made it easier for you (and your profile viewers) to look back at your entire Facebook history. It even offers yearly highlights: pictures that were posted that year, status updates that received lots of comments, popular shared links, etc. It even gives you a space to upload a picture of you to highlight your birth (feeling uneasy yet?). If you want to add more life events to your profile, such as trips, times you moved, or relationship beginnings/endings, you can click the “Life Events” button that appears in the top right corner when you’ve scrolled down to your stories.
The good news here is that you can pick and choose which kinds of things appear on your timeline. Just click the “Activity Log” button on the top right of your page. From there, you can prevent certain kinds of stories from appearing on your timeline, and you can delete any of what Facebook deems “Events” from your past Facebook activity.
Now, for those of us who have been on Facebook for many years (6 for me), that’s a lot of stuff to wade through. It also makes me feel a little uncomfortable. If there’s someone creeping on my Facebook profile that I don’t know about, that person can now easily access anything I’ve put on Facebook for the past 6 years. So, here’s my advice:
- Don’t publish your Facebook Timeline immediately after activating it. First, make sure that any incriminating things from your past that you’ve forgotten about don’t show up in your stories, and choose which kinds of stories you don’t want appearing in general.
- Check out your security settings. Make sure that your settings are the way you want them to be. In my opinion, only people you’ve authorized as friends should be able to view your entire Timeline.
- If you’ve chosen the option that only friends can view your stuff, do a friend cleanse. Hey, random person I met 5 years ago and haven’t talked to since then…sorry, but you’re being unfriended.
- Play around with it! There are lots of things I haven’t mentioned, including “Apps”. Check them out! Perhaps there’s a new fun time-waster just waiting to be discovered.
For more Timeline viewpoints and news, check out Mashable and USA Today. If you’re looking for some inspiration for your Cover, look these examples.
