Facebook Fails with New Profiles

Facebook rolled out its new profile pages yesterday. They are intended to display information more graphically than before.

Since the folks at Facebook like things displayed graphically, instead of in boring text, this photograph represents my general reaction the new profile pages.

Facebook Fails with New Profiles

Yes, there really is nothing better than a yawn to describe the new profiles on Facebook. The new pages are just like the old ones, except that they use more graphics to display information instead of text.

Never once I have heard anyone complain, "Facebook sure is nice, but I wish that there were more graphics on my profile page."

I haven't heard that one even once.

Meanwhile, as the folks at Facebook are busy changing those things that don't need changing, all of the things that really ought to be changed about the service have stayed the same.

For example, all of my Facebook friends are still treated exactly the same and have the same access to information. I have some friends who mean the world to me. I've known them for years. They were there for me when my Dad passed away. They've seen me at my best and at my worst and accept me through it all.

And then there's the guy that I haven't said 10 words to since we were in the 8th grade together. However, he is still once of one of my Facebook friends.

There are also a couple hundred people with whom I am much closer to than Mr. Haven't Spoken Since 8th Grade, but not quite as close as the dozen or so I Would Take A Bullet for These Folks friends. Friendship, if you will, is a long continuum. People have really, really close friends, mere acquaintances, and lots of room in between.

In the off-line world, we manage these friendships accordingly. In the social networking arena, however, we aren't able to do so because the necessary tools don't exist. It would be great if I could assign my Facebook friends places in a continuum, with increasing access to my personal information and certain photos, instead of the everyone is the same crap that they have now.

There's also the fact that I can everything about Facebook on my Blackberry - except for events. It would be great if I could see exactly when and where a given event is on my phone. It would come in handy for those moment when I can't remember exactly which bar in a certain neighborhood I told folks I would meet them at.

These things would be great. Unfortunately, instead of those things, we all have are a few more graphics on a given page.

Will someone please develop a better social networking site?

I'm convinced that the only reason Facebook is still in business is because MySpace sucks even more than they do.