On Monday 26th December 2011, it won't just be
the leftover Christmas turkey you'll be tucking into but also
Facebook's latest platform development - the timeline.
The new profile format, which has gradually been rolled
out and tested for the last few months, will come into full
operation on Boxing Day and is expected to revolutionise the social
network for its 800m-plus users.
With a fresh new look and the opportunity to personalise
your profile more than ever before, the new timeline is just that;
a reverse chronological history of all the things you've done on
Facebook.
Zuckerberg said at its launch; "Millions of people curate
stories of their lives on Facebook every day and have no way to
share them once they fall off your profile page…we have been
working on 'timeline' all year…it's the story of your life and a
completely new way to express yourself."
And he couldn't be more right. The timeline is a
completely revolutionary method of expressing oneself and will be a
game changer for Facebook and all of its competitors.
But, by changing the functionality of its primary user,
how will this change the usability of its core income provider -
the brands?
Currently, timeline is not being rolled out to brand pages
which is a wise move for a number of reasons:
- We/they can't predict how Facebook's 800m+ users
will react to timeline and with the platform now integral to most
global brands…why run the risk?
- It will take time for Facebook users to adopt its
new style and functionality. This may indeed cause the regularity
of Facebook activity to temporarily stall and naturally brands
wouldn't want this happening on their pages. Hence, keep this
aspect familiar for the short-term.
- And finally, possibly the most important reason,
brand social media managers are only human. Similarly to everyone
else, we all require a little time to get our heads around timeline
and how our audience is reacting to it. It may well open up a whole
new torrent of opportunities for brands but, like anything, no one
likes entering the unknown blindfolded.
A Facebook rep commented; "We are currently focused on
Timeline for individuals and will consider how to make consistent
experiences for Pages."
So until that point of time in the timeline, we'll just
have to use our imagination…
Burberry
Coca-Cola
Mercedes
